Changes
by BlackRoseOnFire
Summary: Manny has made some changes in her life. But will everything work out? COMPLETE
1. The Times Are Changing

**A/N: This is my first fanfic so sorry if it's not good. Make sure to leave me a review. I do not own any of Degrassi's characters. I do own Jason and Heather Daniels, their children, Chris ( not the same one emma liked on degrassi...you'll see him next chapter) and any other new characters.**

**Chapter 1: The Times Are Changing**

By the end of grade 10, Manuela Santos decided that things needed changing in her life. Over the summer, she moved out of her parents' house. She was now living with Jason and Heather Daniels. She had been babysitting for their kids for over a year now, and felt like a part of the family. She was overwhelmed with joy when they said she could live with them. Things were rough at home and she felt like she needed to get away. Jason and Heather have 3 sons (Jayden, Caleb, and Anthony) and a daughter (Quinn). Jayden is 5 years old, Caleb is 4, Anthony is 2 and Quinn is 5 months old. Manny moved into their basement that was finished off with a darker shade of pink for the carpet. It was much bigger than her bedroom at home. In return, Manny would baby-sit for free when the Daniels wanted to go out at night.

Emma and Manny are still best friends of course. Emma stays over at the Daniels' house a lot and helps Manny baby-sit. The biggest change in Manuela's life, however, is that she is finally over Craig. It wasn't just temporary either. Manny broke up with Craig on the last day of school when she found him and Ashley making out in Craig's garage. She knew that if she just let it go that eventually Ashley and Craig would go further and ruin their relationship. So she ended it.

Spike and Snake let Emma sleepover at Manny's the night before school started.

"What am I going to wear?" Manny whined.

"Oh get over it Manny! Just throw something together and you'll be fine," her Emma assured her best friend. She was sitting on Manny's bed in her new room and Manny was freaking out over the first day of grade 11.

"Easy for you to say! You _always _look great!" she told Emma.

"Thanks but let's just get your outfit ready. It's getting late and tomorrow's a big day. Oh I know! Why don't you wear that cute new pink shirt? The one that comes off your shoulders a little. And these jeans," she offered, holding up Manny's new jeans that hugged her in all the right places.

"Oh Emma that's great, thanks! And I can wear my pink Tims to match the shirt. Tomorrow is going to be perfect, I just know it." Manny said dreamily. "Well, I guess we should go to sleep now. There's only ten more hours until school starts and I have to get up extra early to get everything ready. Goodnight my best friend in the whole world!"

"Goodnight Manny," she replied, laughing. She turned out the light and they both went to sleep, anticipating the next day. After all, it was going to be _perfect_.

**A/N: Sorry it's so short! I'll write more after I get some reviews.**


	2. One Thing After Another

**Chapter 2: One Thing After Another**

Manny woke Emma up at 5:30 the next morning.

"Manny just let me sleep another hour! School doesn't start until 7:30," she complained.

"Fine, but don't come crying to me when you're not ready to leave when Jason is," Manny replied. She went upstairs, took a shower, straightened her hair, put on all her makeup, and was finally ready around 7. When she went back in her room, Emma was already dressed with her hair done. She was sitting on Manny's bed, reading a magazine. "Did you even take a shower?" Manny asked.

"Of course I did...you do know that there are three bathrooms in this house don't you?"

"Yes, I just didn't hear you come upstairs," Manny stated.

"Well, that's because you were too busy getting ready for the guys at school," Emma teased her. Just then Jason called down from the top of the stairs.

"Girls! Time to go! It's 7:15. Hurry up or you'll be late for your first day," he yelled.

"Coming!" Manny and Emma replied in unison. They rushed up the stairs, eager to make it to school on time.

* * *

Manny closed her locker (that was decorated with pictures of Johnny Depp on the inside) just in time to see someone walk by. It was a person she had never seen before at Degrassi. A **boy** she'd never seen before. "Who was that?" she asked Emma, whose locker was next to hers.

"I dunno. I guess he's new," she replied.

"I would sure like to find out. He's kinda cute…in a dorky way."

"Yeah well remember what happened last time you thought someone was cute in a dorky way," Emma said half joking, half serious.

"Well, that was Craig and this is now…I mean, that was then and this is now," Manny corrected herself. At that moment, a voice came over the intercom.

"Will Manuela Santos please come to the main office immediately," the voice said.

"It's only the first day and you're already in trouble!" Emma joked. "I'll see you in first period. Maybe." She walked away towards her homeroom and Manny made her way to the office.

She arrived at the office to see the new kid standing by the secretary's desk. Mr. Radditch was there too. "Manuela, you have been chosen to show our new student around the school. He's in most of your classes. His name is Christopher Hawkins. Christopher, this is Manuela," Radditch introduced them to each other. "Hurry up now and get going before the bell rings. Here is his locker number," he said as he led the two students out the door.

"You can call me Manny. All my friends do," she told Christopher while extending her hand. He shook it and told her to call him Chris. "Your locker is right here, across the hall from mine and my best friend Emma's. You'll meet her later, we're all in first period together. After I show you around, I'll tell you about all the wonderful people here that you are likely to meet. You'll need to know about all the relationships too."

"Do you have a boyfriend Manny?" Chris asked. "I'm just wondering, that's all."

"Not anymore. I broke up with this boy Craig on the last day of school last year. He's in grade 12," she answered him. Just then, Manny and Chris arrived at their first period class, Chemistry. They walked in and Manny introduced Chris to their teacher Mr. Bauer. The teacher was new in the school and he seemed really nice. Manny sat next to Emma, and Chris sat in the empty seat next to her. He reached over Manny's desk and shook Emma's hand when Manny introduced them to each other.

"Class, it's time for me to assign your lab partners. Now before I met any of you, I put partners together randomly. I want to see how well you all work with each other," Mr. Bauer announced.

Manny tuned her teacher out until she heard him say her name. _Good, _she thought to herself. _Emma and Chris haven't been paired with anyone. Hopefully one of them will be my partner. _"Manuela Santos, I have put you with…JT Yorke." Manny let out a sigh.

"Oh great," she muttered. She looked over at JT and he was smiling at her. _He did grow up nice though,_ she thought. _But I have feelings for Chris, even if I have only known him for an hour! _"And that leaves us with…Emma Nelson and Christopher Hawkins," Mr. Bauer finished. Manny glared at Emma and walked over to the table where JT was waiting for her. "And here is your first assignment." Mr. Bauer began to explain the assignment. It was a simple exercise to allow everyone to get to know each other in the class, even though they mostly knew everyone. Manny walked over to the teacher at the end of class.

"What can I do for you Ms. Santos?" he asked her.

"There's a bit of a problem with my lab partner. It's not your fault though, you're just new around here. Our teachers always pair us with our friends, boyfriends, etc. I just need you to switch my partner with Emma's," she explained hopefully.

"Sorry, no can do Manuela. You will be fine if you don't get to be with Christopher all class period. Besides, you and JT look like you work well together," he told her.

"But…"

"No buts Ms. Santos. I'm not changing my mind. Now you better get going to your next class before you're late." With that, Manny stormed off in the direction of her MI (Media Immersions) class with Mr. Simpson. She walked right by Emma on the way.

"Manny, wait up!" Emma called. Manny didn't even slow down. She was mad that Emma got to be partners with Chris. "Manny! It's not my fault I got partnered with Chris. Come on, I know you like him, I wouldn't do that to you!" she yelled to her best friend. Manny stopped walking and waited for Emma to catch up.

"Stop yelling! If anyone hears you…"

"There's no one in the hallway Manny! We're late for class. I already pointed Chris in the right direction and told him I was going to wait for you."

"You're right Emma, I'm sorry. It's not your fault. But come on, I had to be paired with JT? This is not going to be good."

"You never know, Mr. Bauer might decide to switch partners every now and then. You still have a chance. It's only the first day of school. Things will get better, I promise. Plus, we all have lunch together," Emma reassured her. The two girls finally walked into class and bumped right into Mr. Simpson.

"Sna…I mean Mr. Simpson, sorry," Emma said to her stepfather.

"You girls are both late," he replied, looking angry.

"We are soooooooo sorry Mr. Simpson. I stayed after for a minute to talk to Mr. Bauer, and Emma waited for me. It won't happen again," Manny explained.

"It better not, or I'll be seeing you after school. Now that you're finally here, you can take your seats. Emma you sit over there by Liberty, and the only other seat left is next to Toby, so have at it Manny." Manny groaned and made her way to her seat. She wasn't anywhere near Emma or Chris. Almost as soon as she sat down, an instant message popped up on her screen. She looked around the room and saw JT looking at her. Emma, Chris, and almost everyone else in the class way paying attention to Mr. Simpson.

**A/N: Who will the IM be from? Please review guys. I have almost written all of chapter four, but I need to write the third one first. If you have any ideas, let me know. Otherwise, I'll be able to fill it in myself. **


	3. Better Things

**Chapter 3: Better Things**

CHawk: What are you doing after school today?

_It's from Chris! _Manny thought excitedly. She looked across the room at Chris and smiled. He smiled back and motioned with his hands for her to type back to him.

MSant: Well, I have to babysit until five.

CHawk: Want some company?

Manny grinned as she read the last message.

MSant: I'll have to call and ask but I'd definitely love some company! I'll let you know by lunch.

CHawk: Sounds like a plan.

Manny smiled at Chris again and closed out the message box. She opened up a new one and sent a message to Emma.

MSant: I think I'm in love:P

Emma looked over at Manny and rolled her eyes.

ENels: You're always in love:)

Manny closed that box too and actually paid attention to Mr. Simpson for the rest of class. When class was finally over, Manny was excited; all she had to do was get through math with Mr. Armstrong and then it would be time for lunch! Her spirits dropped when she found out that Chris was not in her math class. "I already took Algebra 2 at my old school. So I guess I'm going to be in Pre-Calculus with Mrs. Scott," he told her.

"I think she's a new teacher too. What, did DCS get a makeover or something? Anyways, I can at least show you where your room is. That's my job after all," Manny informed Chris. She showed him to his math room and got a pass from Mrs. Scott to her math class. Emma wasn't in it either.

_Great, _she thought. _This year really is going to suck. _JT was in her class, of course. And he sat right next to her. Just then, JT leaned towards Manny's desk and put his hand on top of hers. "This year is going to be great!" he said to her. Manny groaned and pulled her hand away. For the whole class, she daydreamed of her future with Chris. When the bell rang, she jumped out of her seat and ran out of the room.

Manny ran straight to the girls' washroom and pulled her cell phone out of her purse. She called Heather's work number. It rang three times before she answered. "Hello, Heather Daniels speaking, what can I do for you?"

"Heather! It's Manny."

"What's wrong? You sound upset."

"No, I'm not upset, just excited. I just wanted to ask you if my friend Chris could come over after school and babysit with me. He's new to Degrassi and…"

"Sorry Manny but I'm really busy here at work. I can't talk anymore. Yes, he can come, make sure you two behave. I have to go now, bye."

"Bye Heather! Thanks!" Manny shouted before hanging up her phone. She hurried off to lunch and almost ran right into JT.

"Looking for me?" he asked.

"Um, no. I'm going to lunch," she replied and went around him. She went straight to the lunch line to get some food. Boring old ham and cheese sandwich from the deli line. But hey, at least it tasted good. After paying for the food, she rushed over to a table where she saw Emma sitting. "Where's Chris?"

"He's still in the line. He got here after you did. Probably got lost, seeing as you didn't go to his class and bring him down," Emma told her.

"Oh no! I hope he's not mad at me! I completely forgot. I was calling Heather to see if he could come babysit with me today."

"Ooo! Tell me all the juicy details the minute he leaves," she replied.

"Juicy details, where?" Chris said as he sat down at the table. Manny jumped.

"You scared me! Oh Chris I'm really sorry. I had to call someone before lunch and I forgot to bring you down. I forgot and I hope you're not mad at me." Emma nudged Manny in the side. She was rambling again, a habit when she was nervous.

"No, don't worry about it. Someone named Marco from my math class showed me the way. He was really nice.

"Yeah and really gay!" Emma commented. Chris looked slightly confused but Manny began talking again.

"You can come babysitting with me after school today!" she blurted out.

"That's cool. How are we going to get there?" he asked.

"We have to walk to the daycare the kids stay at during the day and then walk home from there. It's actually a pretty short walk. It won't take too long." She told him. When lunch ended, the hallways filled with people going back to class. The rest of the day went by quickly. Chris was in two more of Manny's classes and Emma was in all of them.

Manny and Chris were walking to the daycare where the kids were. "Ok, their names are Jayden, Caleb, Anthony, and Quinn. Just to fill you in, I live with them. In their basement to be exact. I had some problems with my parents and it was for the best. I absolutely love it there. I feel more at home," she explained.

"Ok, so I met a bunch of people today. You told me about most of them on my little tour of DCS, but you never explained the relationships. I'm dying to hear who's with who. No one really looks like they go together well," Chris said. This gave Manny a chance to ramble, something she was very good at.

"Here it goes. Well, where should I start? I guess I'll begin with Marco. Emma wasn't joking, he really is gay. His boyfriend is Dylan. Dylan's sister is Paige. She used to be with Spinner, a very unlikely match if you ask me, and now she's with some older guy. Spinner's friend Jimmy is with Hazel, who happens to be Paige's best friend. They have a tight little clique right there. Let's see, who's next? Oh yeah! Craig, my ex, is now with Ashley (we are mortal enemies by the way). She's his rebound. Ellie is with Sean (who used to be with Emma). Emma doesn't have a boyfriend right now. I think JT likes me, he keeps trying to flirt but he's not very good at it. Liberty likes JT; she has ever since she met him. And then there's Toby. He's Ashley's stepbrother. Not a bad guy, but no one really likes him more than a friend," she paused.

"Wow," Chris replied. "There's so much to remember."

"I haven't even gotten to the parents. Ok this won't take as long. Mr. Simpson is Emma's step dad (her real dad had an accident and he is mentally retarded). Mr. Simpson married her mom (Spike) last year and his nickname from high school is Snake. Craig lives with Joey (his step dad) because his dad abused him and then was killed in a car accident. His mom died after she married Joey. I live with Jason and Heather. Well, that's really all that's important," she finally finished.

"You forgot one relationship," Chris said.

"Which one?" she asked, trying to think of who she could have missed.

"Manny and Chris," he answered with a smile. This took Manny by surprise and she began to blush. By then they had arrived at the daycare.

"We're here," Manny announced, avoiding the subject. In her mind she was really yelling, _YES! _


	4. Without A Doubt

**Chapter 4: Without a Doubt**

When Manny and Chris finally got the kids home, Manny made her way to the kitchen to make snacks for them. "You can make yourself at home in the living room or help make snacks if you want," she told Chris.

"I think I'll stay in here and help if that's okay with you," he replied. They made celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins (they were supposed to be ants on a log) for the boys, and Manny heated up some banana baby food for Quinn. When all the kids were done eating, the boys ran upstairs to their playroom and Manny put the baby in the playpen in the living room. Within minutes, Quinn fell asleep. Manny grabbed two baby monitors (one was for the living room and the other one went to the playroom) and attached them to her belt.

"Do you want a tour of the house or something?" she asked Chris.

"Sure," he responded. Manny led him upstairs and showed him the playroom and bedrooms. Jayden and Caleb shared a bedroom, while Anthony's room and Quinn's nursery were separated by wooden sliding doors. Jason and Heather's bedroom was upstairs too, as well as two bathrooms (one for them and one for the kids), and the laundry room. Downstairs, she showed Chris the living room, kitchen, dining room, and bathroom that was basically hers. "Where's your room?" he asked.

"It's down there," she replied while pointing to the basement door.

"In the basement?" he asked. "That's gotta suck."

"Actually, it's really nice," she told him. "Come on, I'll show you." She opened the door with one hand while she grabbed his hand with her other one, and led him down the stairs. Manny had a queen-sized bed on the wall across from the stairs. Near her bed was her stereo, CDs, and bookshelves. On the adjoining wall was her computer on her desk. In another corner stood her TV, with more shelves that held DVDs. There was a big couch in front of the TV. Her closet was on the opposite wall from her bed, and there were built-in drawers for more clothes. Chris noticed another door over near Manny's bed.

"What is that room?" he asked, pointing to the door.

"Oh, that's just a room for storage. And the door to go outside is in there too," she explained.

"Well I have to say this is a nice room, especially since it's in the basement. I mean, our basement isn't finished off. It just has wooden walls and a concrete floor."

"Yep, this is my wonderful bedroom. It's actually much bigger and nicer than my old room." She sat down on her bed and had a sad look on her face.

"What's wrong?" Chris asked her as he sat down on the edge of the bed next to her.

"Oh, I was just thinking about my parents. It's too bad that we didn't get along. I love living here, it's just weird when I think about it sometimes. I do miss them occasionally. It's just more peaceful here. I feel like I'm loved more."

"Manny, you're parents love you. I fight with my parents all the time too. Every teenager does. I don't see why anyone wouldn't love you, you're beautiful."

"Do you really mean that Chris?" she asked. Instead of answering, Chris leaned towards Manny and kissed her on the lips.

"Does that answer your question?"

"Yes," she replied, smiling. This time Manny leaned in to kiss Chris. Right in the middle of their kiss, they heard crying through the baby monitor. "I better go check on Quinn," Manny said, pulling away. She smiled at Chris one more time before getting up. He followed her upstairs and into the living room. Manny picked the baby up and comforted her. "It's okay honey. Don't cry. Mommy will be home soon," she said. Quinn stopped crying.

"You're really good with kids huh?" Chris asked her.

"Yeah, I've always been. But I gotta go change her diaper. You can come help, but trust me, you'd probably rather stay down here."

"I think I'll just sit in the living room or something," he replied.

"Good choice," Manny said while grinning. "I'll be right back." Chris watched her walk up the stairs until she disappeared from sight. _She really is beautiful,_ he thought. _But how can I be falling for someone so quickly?_ He wondered. In a few minutes, Manny re-emerged from upstairs. She sat down on the couch next to Chris. "Do you want to hold her?" she asked.

"Um, sure, I guess so. I've never held a baby before," he said.

"Well, she's old enough that you don't have to hold her head or anything," Manny explained and handed Quinn over to him. "Boys!" she yelled up to the kids. "Why don't you come downstairs and watch TV with us. Mommy and Daddy will be home in a little bit!" she yelled. Jayden, Caleb, and Anthony came running down the stairs. "Slow down guys, don't hurt yourselves." She turned back to Chris. "You're doing good with her," she told him. "She likes you. And trust me, she doesn't like very many people," she added. Then she turned the TV on and changed the channel to Nickelodeon for the kids. About ten minutes later, Heather got home.

"Hey guys," she said to everyone. Chris immediately stood up and introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Chris," he said. "Thanks for letting me come over."

"Nice to meet you Chris," Heather said, shaking his hand. "You can stay for dinner if you like."

"I'd love to. Can I use your phone? I left my cell phone at home," he said.

"Sure, it's in the kitchen." When he walked out of the room, Heather turned to Manny and gave her a look showing that she approved. "He's very polite," she said. "But anyway, Jason will be home in a half hour. Do you want to help me cook dinner?"

"Sure." They both walked into the kitchen and Chris was just hanging up the phone. Many placed Quinn in her highchair.

"My parents said it was okay," he told them.

"Great, we're gonna cook dinner now," Manny said.

"Well I'm not good at cooking so I'll go play with the boys." He went into the living room and turned off the TV. "Come on guys, do you wanna go play upstairs?" He went up to their playroom with them.

When Manny and Heather were finished cooking, Chris was still upstairs with the kids. Before they called him down, they set the table. Jason came home a minute later. "You're just in time for dinner, we have a guest," Heather said while greeting him by kissing his lips.

"And who might our guest be?" he asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Manny's boyfriend," Heather taunted.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Manny complained. "Not yet anyway," she added. "Chris! Can you bring the boys down? Dinner's ready," she yelled. A few minutes later, Chris and the boys entered the kitchen.

"All their hands are washed," he told Heather. She thanked him and turned to Jason.

"Jason this is Chris; Chris, my husband, Jason." They shook hands with each other and Manny was getting a little impatient.

"Time to eat!" she announced. Everyone sat down at the dining room table. Jason and Heather each sat at one end of the table. Quinn was next to Jason so he could feed her, and Anthony was next to Heather for the same reason. Jayden and Caleb sat on one side of the table, next to Quinn, and Manny and Chris were on the other side, next to Anthony.

"This lasagna looks great," Chris commented.

"Thanks," Manny and Heather said in unison. "Dig in everyone," Heather added. After a minute or so of silence, Jason spoke up.

"So Chris, are you from Canada originally?" he asked.

"No, actually I'm from New York City," Chris replied. "We moved here because of my mom's job."

"What does she do?" Heather asked.

"She's the Vice President of a bank in New York. The bank was bought by a company here in Canada, so we moved," he explained.

"Are you glad that you moved? Or would you rather be back in New York?" Manny asked.

"Well, it's very different here. I do miss my neighborhood and friends, but I'm actually glad that we moved here. Well, I'm glad that I met you anyway," he told her. Manny blushed.

"Me too," she said.

"Ok, save the mushy stuff for later," Jason joked. "Honey, the lasagna was delicious," he told his wife.

"Hey! I helped make it too," Manny protested.

"That's a compliment to both of you then, isn't it?" Jason offered.

"Thank you for having me over for dinner Mr. and Mrs. Daniels," Chris said.

"You can call us Jason and Heather," Jason said.

"Okay, I'll remember that. Do you need any help with the dishes or the kids?" he asked them.

"No, we're all set. Why don't you two watch a movie or something?" Heather recommended. Chris and Manny headed downstairs to find something to do.

"What do you want to do? We could watch a movie, listen to music, or play one of Jason's video games," Manny suggested.

"You can decide. I don't care what we watch, just as long as I'm with you," Chris answered.

"Aw that's so sweet," she said.

"Well, I try. I'll do whatever you want to," he told her.

"I feel like watching a movie. Have you seen Secret Window? Johnny Depp is my absolute favorite and it's a good movie," Manny explained.

"Nope, haven't seen it. Sounds good to me," he said. Manny put the DVD in and started the movie. After about ten minutes, Chris inched closer to her on the couch. A few minutes after that, he put his arm around her. Manny was so happy. She hadn't felt so good since Craig asked her out on her first date. When the movie was over, Chris yawned and looked at his watch. "Well, it's getting late. I should probably be going," he said. Only seconds after his comment, the door at the top of the stairs opened and Heather called down.

"Hey Chris I better bring you home before your parents get mad. It's almost 9," she said.

"I'm coming!" he called back. He turned towards Manny and hugged her. "I had a great time. Thanks."

"I had fun too," she said right before she kissed him. He started to walk away and turned around to face her.

"I have one more question though," he told her.

"And that would be…"

"When's our second date?" he asked. Manny just watched him walk up the stairs, speechless. When she heard the front door close, indicating that Heather had left to bring Chris home, she picked up her phone and began to dial.

"Emma! I have sooooooo much to tell you! Without a doubt, I just had the best night of my life!"


	5. It's A Date Again

**Chapter 5: It's A Date…Again**

"He kissed you!" Emma squealed.

"Yep. Then I kissed him. And then, we kissed again right before he left!" Manny said.

"But Manny, you only met him today. I mean, shouldn't you get to know him first?" she asked.

"Emma, I know what it seems like. But I really like him. I'm not going to let the small detail that I just met him get in the way."

"Just be careful okay? Anyways, I've got something to tell you. I'm not sure if you're going to like it," Emma said.

"You can tell me. I don't think anything could make me upset right now, all I have to do is think about Chris and everything bad seems to disappear."

"Well, Craig sort of called me tonight. And we talked for a little while…"

"What do you mean he 'sort of' called you?" Manny asked, surprised.

"He called me. He's just upset about a bunch of things I guess and I kinda told him that you were with Chris and he got mad," Emma told her.

"That's just too bad for him then isn't it? He's not my boyfriend anymore and he doesn't have a say in what I do! That is just typical of Craig to get all jealous even though I haven't even talked to him in three months!" Manny ranted.

"I'm not finished yet though," Emma said quietly. "He called me and told me that he broke up with Ashley today because he likes someone else, and that she was just a rebound from you."

"Well, who does he like?" Manny asked.

"Um…me?"

"Is that a question or an answer Emma?" Manny asked angrily.

"It's an answer! I don't really know. He said that he liked someone else and then he asked me to go to the movies with him on Saturday night…"

"Well, are you gonna go?"

"That's the thing…" Emma started to say.

"What's the thing? What are you trying to tell me?"

"A: I don't want you to be mad at me, and B: he wants you and Chris to go too," Emma finished with a sigh.

"Fine, we'll go. I wanted a chance to show Chris off anyway. I'm not mad at you Emma, it's not your fault that Craig likes you. It's kinda sad actually," Manny stated.

"What do you mean by that? Are you saying that he could do better than me?" Emma asked forcefully.

"No! Emma, you are my best friend. I meant that Craig doesn't deserve you and I said that it was sad because I didn't think you liked him back…do you?"

"I don't know. Sorry for making accusations though. Hey I gotta go, my mom's yelling at me to clean my room again!"

"That sucks. I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school then," Manny said.

"Yep. See ya," Emma replied and hung up the phone.

"Emma and Craig?" Manny said out loud to herself. "Who would have ever thought?"

* * *

The next morning at school, Manny went straight to her locker to find Craig there waiting for her. 

"So Manny, are you, uh, going to the movies on Saturday night? With me and Emma?"

"Yeah Craig, I am," she replied, turning away to open her locker.

"That's great," Craig said with a grin.

"Yep, great. Um, I gotta get to homeroom since I didn't go yesterday," she said, trying to get rid of him.

"I can walk with you…if you want." Before Manny could answer, Chris showed up on her other side.

"Ready to go Manny?" he asked, taking her hand. Craig's grin immediately disappeared.

"So Craig, I'll see you later," Manny said as she closed her locker.

"Yeah…later," he replied in a sad tone. He waited until Chris and Manny were out of sight and slammed his fist into Manny's locker. He leaned forward and let his head fall against the locker. After a couple of seconds he slammed his open hand against the lockers. Craig had become increasingly violent since Manny broke up with him. When Craig pulled himself together, he noticed that his knuckles on his right hand were bleeding and bruised. He threw his backpack over a shoulder and stormed off to his own homeroom, late as usual.

In Manny and Chris' homeroom, Mr. Simpson was telling the students about upcoming school events (Emma wasn't there; she ended up being in Mr. Armstrong's homeroom). Manny sent Chris an instant message even though they were sitting right next to each other.

MSant: About our second date…

CHawk: What about it? Do you still want to have one?

MSant: Of course! But…I kinda volunteered us for something.

CHawk: For what exactly? I'm getting a little worried here…

MSant: Well I promised Emma that we'd go on a double date to the movies on Saturday night.

CHawk: That sounds good. Who's her date?

MSant: Craig.

CHawk: Craig? As in, your ex boyfriend Craig? With your best friend?

MSant: Yeah, I don't mind. I'm glad he's moving on. But if you don't want to go because he's going, then I'll understand.

CHawk: No, no, I'll go. Of course I will. As long as I'm with you, we can have fun.

MSant: Good. I can't wait!

Chris closed the window and moved his chair closer to Manny's so he could put his arm around her. She smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek before realizing that Mr. Simpson had stopped talking and was staring at them. 'Sorry,' Manny mouthed to the teacher and slid away from Chris a little. Chris noticed the teacher staring at him too, and he took his arm from her shoulder. As soon as Mr. Simpson began talking again, Chris reached over and put his hand onto her leg. Manny looked down and stared for a minute, but then she put her hand on top of his and smiled.

At the end of homeroom, Manny and Chris walked hand in hand to Chemistry. _Great, _Manny thought. _It's JT time. _Chris noticed the change in her mood.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"I just don't feel like working with JT. I'd rather work with you," she replied.

"Well, at least we're all at the same lab station," he said, trying to make her feel better.

"Yeah," she simply stated. At that time, Emma came into the classroom and Manny ran up to her. "Emma!" she yelled playfully. She leaned over and whispered into Emma's ear. "Chris said he wants to go to the movies! I'm so excited!"

"We're going to have so much fun. And to top it all off, Snake said we could all go back to my house after to…hang out," Emma told her.

"Oh no! I just realized that I have Spirit Squad practice late on Saturday afternoon. That means we won't be able to get ready together! What am I supposed to wear?"

"It's okay Manny, you'll be fine. I'm sure you'll find something awesome to wear."

"Class! Take your seats and open your books to page 10," Mr. Bauer said as he entered the room. Manny sighed. She knew this was going to be the longest week of her life. Waiting for the movies would take forever.

* * *

It was finally Saturday. Heather and Jason told Manny she could go on the date. The movie started at 8:30 and they told her she had to be home by 12. That meant she would have about an hour and fifteen minutes to spend with Chris at Emma's house. Emma had told her on Friday that they were going for pizza before the movie at 7:30. Manny had practice until 6 that day.

"Um, Paige, I need to leave early today," Manny said to Paige when she arrived at practice.

"Why and how early?" Paige questioned.

"I have a date and 5:30," she replied.

"I guess that's fine. But first I need details of this date!" Paige said excitedly.

"I'm going with Chris, you know, the new kid at school. He moved here from New York City. It's actually a double date with Emma and…Craig," Manny explained.

"Craig! Why did he ask Emma? Does he like her or something? Or wait, did she ask him?"

"That was my first reaction too. He broke up with Ashley I guess. He told her he liked someone," Manny told Paige.

"I heard about him and Ashley. She's like heartbroken. But why would he like Emma? I mean, she's great and everything, but Craig said he'd never go out with someone younger than him after you. Something about immaturity..."

"That's funny, because most girls younger than him are way more mature," Manny commented.

"I'm just saying…maybe he asked Emma out to get close to you again. Why else would he want to double with you and Chris? You better watch out for him. He's been acting a little shady," Paige said.

"Well, thanks for the advice, but I'm sure I can handle him," Manny said. "Hey, how's it been going with you and Matt?"

"You mean Mr. Oleander? You don't even wanna know. Trust me."

"Yes I do! You can tell me, I promise I'll keep a secret."

"There's no secret to keep Manny! I didn't do it with him or anything. Nothing like that at all. He just made me upset the other day. He started yelling at me on the phone because I didn't go over his house. I had homework to do and my mom wouldn't let me go anywhere! So he got all mad and yelled and told me not to call him for a few days. Whatever, like I care," Paige explained. "Besides, I think I like someone. Even though he's my boyfriend, you are the only one who knows that. I could easily have another guy without him knowing."

"Who do you like?"

"I'll save that for another day. But we've got to start practice! It's already 3:30 and we were supposed to start at 3!" Paige exclaimed. The next two hours went by too slow for Manny. She was jumpy and excited and kept daydreaming and not paying attention. As soon as her watch read 5:30, she ran out of the gym waving goodbye to everyone. She got home and showered, put on makeup, and finally found an outfit to wear.

Manny finished getting ready at 7:25. She ran up the stairs to wait in the living room and her doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" she yelled. It was Chris. "You're five minutes early!" she said.

"I was ready to see my girl!" he said.

"Your girl?" Manny questioned.

"Yeah…well, if that's okay with you..."

"Of course it is!" Manny replied. She yelled goodbye to Jason, Heather, and the kids, and hurried out the door. They were going to walk to Emma's house, and Spike would be dropping them off at the pizza place. From there they were going to walk to the movies and then walk back to Emma's.


	6. What's Going On?

**Chapter 6: What's Going On?**

"Bye Spike! Thanks for the ride!" Manny called as they all got out of the car at Paul's Pizza. Spike waved to the kids and drove off.

"Spike?" Chris asked, confused.

"It's her nickname from high school," Emma informed him. "Mr. Simpson is 'Snake.'

"Oh," he replied.

"So let's eat!" Craig interjected. He led the way into the restaurant and found a table for four. Craig hurried to Manny's side and pulled her chair out for her, beating Chris to it.

"Thanks," she said with a weird look on her face. Before Chris could sit down next to Manny, Craig took the seat. "Um, don't you want to sit next to Emma?" Manny asked him.

"No, I want to sit across from her so I can see her beautiful face. Sit here Em," he said, pointing to the chair in front of him.

"That's so sweet," Emma said to him and took his hand across the table.

_More like fake,_ Manny thought to herself. They ordered a pizza with half hamburger and half pepperoni with extra cheese. Halfway through the pizza, Manny felt a hand on her leg. She looked at Craig and all of a sudden didn't feel a hand there anymore. He acted like it was an accident but she gave him a dirty look. A few minutes later she took her right shoe off and slipped her foot in between Chris' legs. She saw his eyes widen and then he smiled at her.

The girls split the cost of the pizza; Craig and Chris were each going to pay for two tickets at the movies. After they finished eating, they headed over to the movie theater. The guys went in line and bought their tickets. Craig immediately handed his second ticket to Manny. _What's going on?_ She thought to herself.

"Uh, here Emma…" Chris said as he handed his ticket to her.

"Hey Craig have you forgotten that I'm your date tonight?" Emma protested.

"No! Emma of course not! I'm so glad that you're my date. It's not my fault. Chris asked me to give my other ticket to Manny," he lied.

"Actually, I…" Chris began but Craig cut him off.

"Come on guys, we have to get good seats!" he said. They all sat down to watch the movie. Chris sat down first, then Manny, then Craig sat next to her (this made her mad) and Emma sat next to Craig. A few minutes into the previews, Chris put his arm around Manny. His hand accidentally brushed Craig's left shoulder and Craig turned and glared at Chris. He then put his arm around Emma. Manny leaned in and kissed Chris on the lips. Craig did the same to Emma but she pulled away, surprised.

Manny didn't really pay attention to the movie. She kept looking over at Chris and a few times they would start making out. Every time that happened, however, Craig would 'accidentally' bump Manny's arm, forcing her to stare at the screen.

When the movie was finally over, it was time to walk back to Emma's house. Manny did everything she could to avoid walking next to Craig and it worked. She walked holding Chris' hand and was between Chris and Emma. There wasn't much talking, everyone was pretty silent on the way.

"So what do you guys wanna do?" Emma asked. They were all lounging around in her basement (which was also Emma's bedroom).

"Well, we could play spin the bottle, or 7 minutes in heaven," Craig quickly suggested.

"With four people?" Emma questioned. "Hardly any fun at all. Plus, I'm not kissing Manny if the bottle points to her," she joked.

"Well, I'll take my seven minutes in heaven right now," Chris added, looking at Manny. She smiled at him.

"Sounds like a plan to me," she said as she stood up and dragged Chris up with her. They headed towards Emma's walk-in closet when Craig spoke up.

"Uh, yeah…sounds like _so_ much fun," he said.

"You can have _fun_ with Emma out here," Manny told him. Craig rolled his eyes and sat down on Emma's bed. Manny and Chris went into the closet and closed the door behind them. They began making out and didn't stop. After a few minutes, Emma went over and sat at the end of her bed, a few feet away from Craig.

"So..." she began. Before she could say anything else, Craig slid closer to her and began to kiss her. She kissed him back until he stuck his tongue in her mouth. Then she jumped back. "Craig…wait…" But he didn't listen. He forced himself on her, sticking his tongue farther down her throat. Craig paused for a moment, but only long enough for Emma to take a breath. He laid her down, his body pressing her down. Still kissing her, he began to unbutton her shirt. He had undone three buttons before she got her strength back. She shoved him off and yelled. "Craig what the hell are you doing?" At this point, Manny and Chris emerged from the closet.

"What happened out here? We heard some screaming," Chris stated.

"Craig just went a little too far, that's all," Emma said.

"That's all? What do you mean that's all?" Manny asked.

"No, really, I'm fine. He was just being a normal teenage boy," Emma reassured her. She didn't want to think that Craig could be so forceful. She was denying the fact that Craig could have raped her. If Manny and Chris weren't there, he definitely would have. She put into her own mind that it was just hormones.

"But Emma…" Manny began.

"Manny butt out. She said she's fine and that means she's fine. Quit bugging her," Craig said, his voice growing louder.

"Manny! Chris! Jason is here to pick you two up," Snake yelled from the top of the stairs.

"I don't want to leave you alone here with him," Manny said, motioning towards Craig.

"Guys! Come on! Don't keep Jason waiting," Spike yelled down.

"Manny, I'll be okay. It's just Craig," Emma reassured her again.

"Yeah, just talk about me like I'm not here," Craig began to complain.

"Manny and Chris! I know you can hear us!" Snake yelled.

"Coming!" Manny yelled. She grabbed Chris' hand and pulled him up the stairs, looking back at Emma and glaring at Craig before they made it to the top. They got in the car and Jason brought Chris home. When Manny got home she went down to her room to go to sleep. She was hoping nothing bad would happen between Craig and Emma.

Back at Emma's, Craig was still over. "Emma, I'm really sorry about what happened. I was just really horny ya know? You don't know what it's like to be a guy," he tried to convince her to listen.

"No I don't know what it's like, but that doesn't mean I enjoyed what you just did."

"Emma, I said I was sorry, will you forgive me? It will never happen again," he said.

"Okay Craig, I forgive you. But if it _ever _happens again, I'll report you for sexual abuse," Emma threatened him.

"Em, I said it won't, and it won't. I wouldn't ever want to hurt you, you've got to believe that." With that he kissed her lightly on the lips and walked up the stairs to go home.

_For the first time in my life, I know what it feels like to be Manny, _Emma thought. _I think I'm falling in love with Craig._ She turned the light off and closed her eyes. When would the day come that Emma regretted ever thinking that? It would come all too soon.

**A/N: The next chapter will take place three months from now. It will say that in the beginning of the chapter but I'm just letting you know. Please review!**


	7. Trouble In Paradise

**Chapter 7: Trouble in Paradise **

It had been three months since Manny met Chris. He asked her to be his girlfriend the day after their second date. Of course she said yes. Something else happened that next day: Craig asked Emma to be his girlfriend. She said yes too.

It was Tuesday and Manny stayed after school for a few minutes to help JT with some homework in the library. She had told Emma to meet her at her house so she could gush about Chris. They were supposed to meet in an hour. Manny looked at her watch. "JT, I gotta go now. If you need anymore help, you can stop by my house a little later OK?" she asked him.

"Yeah, that's fine. Hey, thanks for helping me. I'm sure I'll be fine but I will call you later if I need more help. Cya," he waved to her as she rushed out of the library. "Bye!" she called over her shoulder on her way out.

She was walking down the hall, almost at the exit, when Mr. Oleander appeared in the doorway of his classroom. "Hey Manny," he said, stopping her in her tracks. "I knew I heard someone out here. Do you think you can help me move some books? I have a bunch of new ones that I have to put on the shelves in my room."

"Sure, but I can only stay for a couple minutes. I have to get home," Manny replied, unsure of why the teacher wanted her to help him.

A few minutes later, Mr. O asked Manny a question. "Manny," he said. "You're close to Paige, right? I mean, you're both on the Spirit Squad together."

"Yeah…why do you ask?" she questioned.

"Do you know why Paige is avoiding me? She ignores me in the hall and doesn't return my calls," he said.

"Know, I didn't know she was avoiding you, and I don't know why either," Manny replied. Mr. Oleander grabbed her wrist and asked her again why Paige was ignoring him. Only this time he yelled it in her face. "Ow! You're hurting me! Let go, please!" Manny cried out.

"Oh Manny, I'm so sorry, I don't know why I grabbed you like that. I didn't mean to. I'm just under a lot of stress right now." He let go of her wrist. "Let's get back to the books." Manny turned around and started toput the rest of the books on the shelf. She was rushing so she could get out of there and didn't notice Mr. O locking the door. When she did look at him, he was writing assignments on the chalkboard in the front of the room.

She looked at her watch and realized that she'd been there a half hour. "I have to go now, I'm meeting Emma at my house," she said to him.

"No you can't leave," Mr. Oleander declared.

"Why not? I told you, I have to get to my house to meet Emma," Manny argued.

"I'm not finished with you yet. I still need your help. There are still some books in the boxes."

"Well, that's too bad. I'm sorry to get rude with you but I'm leaving. You can't keep me here after school since you are not my teacher," Manny protested. She ran over to the door and tries to open it, realizing it's locked. "You had better unlock this door right now Mr. Oleander! I'm going to yell for someone and you'll be in so much trouble," Manny said, her voice level rising.

"Oh no you won't Manny. You are not yelling for anyone and you're not going anywhere either. Paige isn't pleasing me and since you are her friend, it's gonna be your job to please me." While he was saying this, he grabbed Manny by her arm and dragged her over to his desk.

Manny was so scared that she couldn't make a sound. She had no idea what to do and Mr. Oleander was so much bigger than her. He shoved her down onto his desk and put his hand up her skirt. She cried out, but with his other hand, he covered her mouth. With his other hand he pulled down Manny's underwear and his own pants. He began to rape her. Tears are streaming down Manny's face as it happens. She can't move or get herself out of his grip. She can't even cry for help.

After about fifteen horrible minutes of this, Manny hears someone knock on the door twice. The knocking stops and a minute or two later, there are two knocks again.

"Come in, it's about time!" Mr. Oleander yelled. Manny could hear someone unlocking the door and Mr. O pulled up his pants. The door opened and…

**A/N: A cliffhanger! I want some more reviews and I won't post Chapter 8 til I get some! **


	8. What Have You Done?

**Chapter 8: What Have You Done?**

Craig comes into the classroom.

"Help me Craig," Manny pleaded. She was still lying across the desk, her makeup was smeared all over her tear stained face.

"Lock the door behind you," Mr. Oleander demanded. He locked the door behind him and Manny's eyes widened. She didn't understand what was going on. Mr. O was still holding her down and he re-covered her mouth with his hand. He moved around his desk so that he was behind her head. Manny cried even harder and couldn't believe this was happening to her.

"Manny, you've been a bad girl. You didn't have to break up with me, we would have been so happy together. But you had to ruin my life didn't you? Well this is your punishment." He pulled his own pants down and Mr. Oleander turned away as he too raped Manny. By the time he stopped, Manny was an hour late meeting Emma. Craig and Mr. Oleander finally let her go. She still didn't know what to do, she just stood there, speechless.

"You are not going to tell anyone about this Manny. You know you wanted it and if you tell anyone, they won't believe you," Mr. O threatened. "If you do tell anyone, we'll just do it again. You wouldn't want that would you?" Manny shook her head no and looked at the ground. Tears were still streaming down her cheeks.

"Stop crying you little slut," Craig added. He unlocks the door and holds onto Manny's hand so that people will think they were there together. Mr. Oleander closed his door behind them and Craig dragged Manny toward the DCS front doors. When they are almost there, Craig bumps into Mr. Radditch. "Hi Mr. Radditch," he said.

"Aren't you two here a little late? And Manuela, have you been crying?" Mr. Radditch asked, his eyebrows rising suspiciously.

"I was just helping Manny with a surprise for the Spirit Squad. She got a little upset because we had a small fight, but we've made up now," Craig lied. As if to prove it, he leaned over and kissed Manny on the cheek. "See, it's all good!"

"Is that true Ms. Santos?" Mr. Radditch asked.

"Yeah," she answered quietly.

"Well, you two get home now. You need to be able to do your homework before school tomorrow," their principal added. Craig hurried out of the school, still dragging Manny behind him. As soon as they got out of the door, she ripped her arm from Craig and ran home as fast as she could.

When she got there Jason and Heather weren't home from work yet and the kids were at daycare. Manny ran down to her bedroom and Emma wasn't there either. She picked up her phone and called her best friend.

"Hey Emma, it's me, Manny. Yeah, do you want to come over now? JT kept me at the library late. He needed a lot of help with his Chemistry homework," she lied.

"Oh wait a minute Manny. Craig is calling me on my other line. I'll come over as soon as I'm done talking with him. Bye!" Emma said. Manny hung up the phone and curled up on her bed. She felt so ashamed and helpless.

About an hour or so later, Emma still hadn't showed up and her phone rang.

"Hello?" she said when she picked up the phone.

"Manny, it's Emma. Sorry, I can't come over. Craig is coming over because he wants to give me my present for our three month anniversary. I can probably come over tomorrow though," she explained. When Manny didn't say anything, Emma said, "Manny? Hello…are you there?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Manny said sadly. "I gotta go. Bye." She hung up the phone and rolled back over. All she could do was cry.

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is short but people are bugging me to see who came into the room...so here it is for you. Chapter nine will probably be up by Tuesday ish. I know what's gonna happen but I haven't written it. **


	9. Sick Of All This Pain

**Chapter 9: Sick Of All This Pain**

The next morning Manny could not get up for school. She felt so disgusting and she was also very upset because Emma blew her off to be with one of the people who made her feel that way. When it was about 7:15, fifteen minutes before school started, Manny went upstairs into the kitchen, still in her pajamas.

"Manny why aren't you ready for school yet? We have to leave in a few minutes," Jason said.

"Can I stay home today? I don't feel so well," she said. She wasn't lying, she didn't feel well at all, but it was more of an emotional than a physical sickness.

"You don't look sick," he commented. He walked toward her and felt her forehead. "You don't feel sick either," he added.

"It's more like a headache. And my throat hurts. I don't want to pass anything on to the kids at school," she lied.

"Okay, you can stay home if you don't feel well. But Jayden is sick too and since you are staying home, he's gonna stay with you. That way, Heather doesn't have to stay home from work. I'll go tell her," Jason said. When Jason went upstairs to tell Heather, Manny returned to her room. A few minutes later, Heather came down to her room with Jayden, who was also still in his pajamas.

"Well my two little sick ones, I'll be home from work around four and Jason won't be home until six. We're all leaving now, we have to bring the kids to daycare," she said.

"You can leave them all here with me if you want. I wouldn't mind watching them," Manny offered.

"I don't want you to get them sick but thanks for offering. Jayden's stomach hurts so I brought a bucket down, it's over there," she said, motioning towards the couch.

"Bye, I'll see you at four then," Manny said to Heather.

"Bye guys." She gave Jayden a kiss on the head before going upstairs to leave for work.

"Bye mommy," Jayden said as he waved to Heather. He was lying on Manny's bed, all curled up next to her.

"Manny, how come you're staying home with me? Don't you hafta go to school?" he asked.

"I'm sick, just like you," she answered.

"But you don't look sick. Did you throw up like me?"

"No, I didn't. Someone made me very sad and it makes me feel sick. I think my heart is sick," she told him.

"Oh," he said. He slowly fell asleep and in a few minutes, Manny felt herself getting tired too. She had stayed up the whole night crying. She fell asleep within seconds.

The sound of Manny's phone ringing woke her up. She looked up at her clock; it was 3:00! Jayden was sitting on the couch watching cartoons. "It's Emma," he said, without looking over at Manny.

"How do you know?" she asked, the phone ringing again.

"She called a lot. Since school was over. I told her you were sick but she keeps calling," he replied, turning back to the television.

"Hello?" Manny said into the phone

"Manny! Where have you been? Jayden told me you were sick but why haven't you been answering your phone?" her best friend asked.

"I was sleeping Em. There's no crime in that is there?"

"Sorry, but what's wrong with you? You sound more upset than sick," Emma stated. "Do you want me to come over so we can talk?"

"No thanks, I'm fine. Jayden stayed home from school today too because he's been throwing up. I wouldn't want you to get sick too," Manny said.

"Well, okay, but I better see you in school tomorrow?"

"Yep, see ya," Manny said as she hung up. She went into the kitchen and made Jayden a snack. After he ate, they went back downstairs and she played video games with him until Heather came home. Manny was getting more miserable each minute. By the time dinner rolled around, she was back to sulking in her room. She told Jason and Heather that she ate a late lunch and wasn't hungry.

The next day, Jayden went to school, but Manny didn't. This time she said that she thought she may have caught whatever Jayden had, and felt like she was going to throw up. Her day was the same as the one before, sleeping, not eating, and Emma calling. This time, Emma told Manny that she was really worried about her. She never missed school. Manny lied and said she had a stomach bug and maybe the flu.

All of Manny's friends, as well as Heather and Jason, were getting worried when she didn't go to school on Friday either. She just didn't think she could face Craig and Mr. Oleander. She knew she would burst into tears if she saw either of them. She had to go to school sometime, she knew that too. But somehow Manny thought that if she hid from everyone in her room, things would eventually get better and all these problems and thoughts would go away. She was wrong.

It was now Saturday night. Manny had ignored Emma's calls because she didn't want to talk about it. She knew Emma would ask her all kinds of questions and ask to come over. But Manny couldn't deal with the fact that she'd have to tell sometime. She thought Emma would think she was a nasty slut. Luckily for Manny, Emma hadn't tried to come over at all. Jason and Heather hadn't even bothered her that much. Now they were at a friend's house with all the kids and wouldn't be home until late that night.

Manny was listening to her Tyler Hilton CD when she heard the doorbell ring. She paused the CD and went upstairs to see who it was. She opened the door to find Chris standing there. "What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"I came to see if you were feeling better," he said. Manny invited him inside and she led him downstairs to her room.

"What's behind your back?" she asked curiously.

"It's a get well present," he answered, pulling a bouquet of roses from behind him.

"Aww they're beautiful! Thank you so much," she said, kissing him on the lips. She saw a get well card attached to the flowers. It made her feel bad for lying to him. "Um, Chris, I have a little confession to make," Manny said.

"What? Are you allergic to flowers or something?" he asked.

"No. It's just that…well, I lied to everyone these past couple days. I haven't been sick at all," she told him.

"So why didn't you go to school? Were you avoiding me? Do you want to break up with me or something?" Chris asked frantically.

"No! It's not like that at all. I just," she paused. I just didn't feel like going okay?" Manny said, only half lying. She hadn't felt like going to school, but there was an actual reason and she couldn't tell Chris. "I love you," she blurted out. For a minute, Chris didn't say anything and Manny began to get worried.

"I love you too," he replied, smiling. "Since you're not sick, we can do this…" Chris said as he kissed her on the lips. In seconds, they were making out. Manny pressed play on her remote and the music came back on. It was on number seven.

_Starting now I will never see my kitchen counter  
__Quite the same babe after we drank the final hour  
__I never knew you had it somewhere deep inside you  
__Another chance to go wild._

_You whispered to me, I'd be stupid not to follow  
__Where you'd be taking me tonight until tomorrow  
__I make predictions from the gifts my dreams have given  
__And never once have they lied._

_So don't you worry who you're kissin' on at midnight  
__The way I see it, I've got you and I both covered  
__The world's to bed, and you and I instead  
__Will secretly enjoy our time  
__So kiss on me tonight…_

After the second verse started, Manny lay down on the bed and pulled Chris on top of her. They continued to make out and he slowly slipped his hand up her shirt, rubbing her back. All of a sudden, an image flashed in Manny's mind. It was Mr. Oleander putting his hand up her skirt. "Chris, wait," she said.

"I'm sorry Manny. If you don't want to do this it's fine with me. I'll wait as long as you want to," he told her.

"No, it's okay. Keep going, I'm fine." When she said this, she pulled off her t-shirt and took his off as well. They continued kissing and Chris pulled Manny's pajama pants off and unzipped his own jeans. Manny closed her eyes and when she opened them, she saw Mr. O unzipping his jeans. She cried out and Chris stopped.

"Are you sure about this Manny? Really, I'm not going to be mad or anything. I'd wait forever for you," he reassured her.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm positive," she said. Chris then pulled his pants off all the way and Manny playfully pulled down his boxers.

"Wait a minute," Chris said. He reached over into his pants pocket and took his wallet out. He pulled a condom out of his wallet and put it on. While he was doing this, Manny took her own underwear off and her bra too. When Chris was done, he noticed that his girlfriend was completely naked. "You're so beautiful," he whispered in her ear and kissed her lightly on the lips. He put himself inside her and they began to have sex. After a few minutes, Manny began to cry softly. Chris stopped once again. "Are you okay Manny?"

"Yes, I'm more than okay, I'm great," she lied. "I'm only crying because I'm so happy to be with you." She forced a smile. Manny wasn't lying about that. She was happy to be with Chris. She just kept having flashbacks of her rape. This time she saw Craig coming into the classroom. _Pull yourself together Manny, _she thought to herself. _This is supposed to be special. _They continued again, and in a minute or so, Manny managed to forget about Mr. Oleander and Craig. She got caught up in the moment and was truly happy to be making love with the man she loved. She knew he loved her too, which made it so much better.

When they were finished, Chris rolled over next to Manny. He kissed her one more time. She pulled her blankets up over them and wrapped her arms around his waist. They both laid there for a long time. Manny wanted this moment to last forever. The only problem was: it didn't. Neither Manny nor Chris even heard Jason and Heather coming home. It was late, and they put the kids to bed before even checking on Manny.

Heather knocked on the basement door, but there was no answer. She could hear music playing so she decided to go downstairs. At that same time, Manny and Chris began to make out again. She was on top of him when Heather made it down the stairs.

"Manny, we're ho…"

"Oh my gosh Heather!" Manny exclaimed. She pushed herself off of Chris and pulled the blankets up to her neck.

"Sorry, I didn't realize…" Heather began but quickly went back upstairs before finishing her sentence.

"Oh man," Chris stated. He was so embarrassed. He was also worried that Manny was going to be in trouble now, but thankful that Jason hadn't walked in on them instead of Heather. At the same time, however, he was so happy to have shared that time with Manny. He really did love her. "I better go now," Chris said as he quickly put all his clothes back on. "Heather is probably telling Jason right now," he said and groaned.

"Yeah, why don't you go through that door to avoid more embarrassment," Manny suggested as she pointed at the door that led outside from the basement.

"Good idea," Chris said. Manny had her underwear and t-shirt back on. "Bye," he said and he kissed her one last time on the lips.

"Bye," Manny said as she watched Chris leave through the door. When he was gone, she pulled her pants back on and slowly made her way upstairs.

After a discussion with Heather and Jason, in which they both told her she was too young to be having sex, Manny agreed to wait before it happened again. They also told her that she couldn't have Chris over unless she asked first. They knew that they couldn't stop anything; after all, they had gotten married at a very young age. They just wanted to know when he would be over. Heather also suggested that Chris and Manny go out more (to the movies, mall, etc.) instead of spending so much time in her bedroom with him. Manny agreed.

On Sunday, Manny and Chris went to the mall and then out to dinner. She had managed to put the issue of her rape to the back of her mind and concentrate on Chris. Little did she know, the issue would resurface all too soon.

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of Tyler Hilton's music/lyrics; he does. **

**A/N: Please review guys! Chapter 10 is in progress!**


	10. The Awakening

**Chapter 10: The Awakening**

Manny arrived at DCS on Monday morning fifteen minutes early. She was grinning ear to ear, still so happy about Saturday night. She was surprised to find Emma already at her locker. "Oh Manny I'm so glad that you're here! I came early, hoping you'd be at school today," she squealed, hugging her best friend. "I have so much to tell you. But I don't want to talk here, let's go to the washroom," she suggested. Manny got her books out of her locker and followed Emma to the washroom.

"I have something to tell you too," Manny confessed.

"Okay, you go first, but hurry up or I think I'll explode!"

"On Saturday night, Chris came over. Heather and Jason and all the kids were gone until late. And, well, one thing led to another and…" she trailed off.

"Manuela Santos did you have sex with him?" Emma asked excitedly.

"Emma, keep it down. Yes, actually. We had sex. But it's only because I love him. And I don't want you to go telling people okay. We both promised each other that we'd tell our best friends but that's it."

"Of course I won't tell anyone. Who is his best friend that he's telling?" Emma asked.

"Marco. You know they're best friends right? I know Marco won't tell anyone," Manny said. "So what is your news?"

"Well, you beat me to it, but on Sunday night I had sex with Craig," she blurted out. "But, we didn't use a condom…"

At this moment, all the images of Manny's rape came rushing back to her. She backed up into the wall and let herself slide down to the floor. She put her head in her hands and began to cry. The horrible things that Mr. O and Craig did to her resurfaced in her mind. She knew it would come back to her, but didn't think it would happen this soon.

"Manny? What's wrong; why are you crying? Don't tell me you're jealous because Craig is your ex-boyfriend and you never had sex with him. You didn't tell me I couldn't be with him you know," Emma said.

"I'm not jealous," Manny snapped. "I just had a very overwhelming weekend. Your news just surprised me, that's all."

"It surprised you enough to make you cry? What's going on with you Manny?"

"Nothing, just forget it okay? Why didn't you use a condom?" she asked, now concerned about her friend.

"We just forgot. It's no big deal," Emma brushed off Manny's concern. "Did you use one?"

"Of course. And it is a big deal Emma. You could get pregnant or an STD or something. You know what, I'm not gonna act like I'm your mom or anything. If you're happy then I'm happy for you," Manny said.

"Don't worry Manny, Craig is clean," she reassured her. Just then, the bell rang for homeroom. Manny and Emma went their separate ways. On her way to Mr. Simpson's room, Manny passed Marco in the hallway. He winked at her and gave her two thumbs up. She rolled her eyes and went to class.

* * *

Later that day, JT passed Manny a note in reading class. It her last class of the day. She opened up the note and looked around before reading it. Emma and Chris were both paying attention to Mrs. Kwan. It said: _Manny can I talk to you after class? It will only take a minute, I promise. But I need to talk to you alone. _Manny rolled her eyes and wrote on the paper: _Yeah I guess, but make it quick, _she replied and handed it back to him. After class, JT waited outside the room to talk to Manny.

"Hey guys, I'll catch up to you at our lockers, I just need to talk to JT really quick," she told Emma and Chris. They walked away and she went over to JT. "What do you want James?" she asked him.

"I'm just a little worried about you Manny," he told her.

"Why would you be worried?" she asked suspiciously.

"Okay, well, you've just been acting kinda weird lately. One minute you're all happy and making sappy faces at Chris, and then the next minute you are staring at your desk sadly, and look like you are about to cry," he said. She opened her mouth to respond and he didn't let her. "Wait, there's more. I was talking to Emma the other day. You know on Tuesday when you helped me in the library? Well we weren't there for very long and Emma said you didn't show up at home to meet her. Then you didn't come to school for the rest of the week. What happened?"

"JT why don't you mind your own business," she snapped, choking back tears.

"I'm just being a concerned friend. I'm worried that something bad happened and I just wanted to let you know that you can talk to me if you need to," he explained.

"Well, if you really must know, I was with Mr. Oleander," she said, only telling half the truth; something she was getting good at.

"Manny...were you in his classroom you mean? Or were you **with **him?" he questioned.

"JT, you're sick. Of course I wasn't. What do you think I'm a slut or something?" she asked angrily.

"No, Manny, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset. I was only worried…"

"Don't bother JT," she interrupted. "Just leave me alone," she said as she stormed off. She wasn't really mad at him; it wasn't his fault that it happened to her. She just needed to leave before he saw her cry and suspected something further.

She managed to stop crying by the time she reached her locker. Manny, Chris, and Emma walked home together. Halfway there, Craig pulled up in his car and Emma hopped in, leaving Manny and Chris to walk alone. They held hands and walked in silence. They didn't need to speak; they both knew that all they needed was to be with each other.

**A/N: I know it's short; it's only 2 1/3 pages in word…Chapter 11 takes places two weeks later. Review, review, and review!**


	11. What?

**Chapter 11: What?**

It had been two weeks since Manny and Chris were "together," and they had been getting closer every minute. No one could separate them and they had both decided not to have sex again for a long time. The first time was special and good enough for the time being, they agreed.

Emma, however, was a completely different story all together. She spent almost every night **with** Craig. She even slept over his house one night and got in major trouble with Spike and Snake when they caught her sneaking back in. Manny was worried about her. It wasn't like Emma to be so reckless. She knew it had to be Craig brainwashing her or something.

On Monday morning, Manny was in the kitchen eating breakfast with the whole family. Jason placed a steaming pile of pancakes in front of her.

"Mmm, they smell so good!" Manny said, complimenting him. Then she felt the need to excuse herself. She ran to the bathroom just in time to throw up in the toilet.

"Manny, are you okay?" Heather asked, appearing in the doorway.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It must have been something I ate last night. Chris and I went to that new seafood restaurant," she explained.

"Do you still feel sick? Maybe you should stay home from school," Heather said.

"Only if Chris can stay home with me," Manny joked. When Heather answered her with a blank look, she said, "I'm only joking. I'm fine. Plus, I have a MI presentation so I can't stay home anyway. Manny returned to the table and ate her pancakes. When she was finished, she hurried down to her room to get her backpack. "I gotta go now. Chris and I are going to practice our presentation before school starts," she said when she came back upstairs.

She gave everyone a hug and a kiss on the cheek before saying goodbye and leaving. Chris picked her up in his silver pickup truck. "Hey babe," she said, getting in. He said hi back and she kissed him on the lips. They made their way to DCS, ready for another boring day. Or so they thought…

* * *

In Media Immersions, Chris and Manny's presentation was going smoothly. When they neared the end, Manny suddenly covered her mouth and ran from the room. "Manny!" Chris called after her, but she didn't stop. He followed her and left a confused Mr. Simpson behind.

Manny was headed for the girls' washroom. She flung the door open and threw herself into the first stall. Chris could hear her puking and he ran in after her. Luckily for him, Manny was the only one in there. Chris found the stall she was in. He held back her hair while she threw up one more time. He also rubbed her back to try and comfort her a little.

Manny felt so sick that she didn't want to talk about it. She rinsed her mouth out in the sink and walked back to class, Chris' arm around her the whole way. No one asked any questions, not even the teacher. Quite a few people were suspicious; especially Mr. Simpson, but no one uttered a single word.

When it was time for lunch, Manny sat at her usual table with Emma, Chris, and JT. She didn't eat anything because she was afraid she would only throw it up later. When there was about ten minutes left to eat, Chris went over to Marco's table to talk with him. As soon as he left, Manny turned towards Emma.

"Want to come to the washroom with me? I have to pee," she said.

"No thanks, I'll just stay here and finish my sandwich," Emma replied.

"You can finish it after Em! I really need to talk to you," she whispered the second part in her ear.

"Sure, I forgot that I have to pee too. We'll be right back JT," she told him.

"What? You mean I'm not invited?" he joked.

"No!" both girls said at the same time.

In the washroom, Manny pushed open the doors to all of the stalls, making sure no one was in there to eavesdrop on their conversation. Emma was fixing her hair in the mirror. "So what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked Manny.

"Well, I'm not sure how to put this so I'm just going to say it. I'm a week and a half late," Manny blurted out.

"WHAT?" Emma yelled in disbelief.

"And I've been throwing up for no reason. At first, I thought it was seafood from last night. But I don't feel sick in between puking each time," she explained.

"But I thought you and Chris only had sex once…and you used a condom," Emma said.

"We did. But they are not 100 percent effective. I guess we are in that1 percentof people that it doesn't work for," Manny said. She couldn't tell Emma about Craig and Mr. Oleander. At least not now. She didn't want to tell anyone ever, but she knew that if the baby wasn't Chris' (it most likely wasn't) she'd have to tell eventually. So she knew that she had to tell Chris before she told Emma.

"Have you told Chris yet? Manny this is so exciting! We're having kids at the same time!" Emma squealed.

"No I haven't told him, I'm going to wait until I know for sure. But what do you mean? You aren't making sense," Manny told her.

"Well, I guess this is the right time to tell you that I'm five days late. And I'm never late, you know?" Emma explained.

"Oh man, this is so crazy. I can't believe this is happening to me. And it's happening to you at the same time," Manny said and sighed.

"This doesn't have to be a bad thing," Emma pointed out. I know we're young, but if we're both pregnant, the babies will be born in the summer. And giving birth to the child of the man you love is a miracle," she said dreamily.

"You love Craig?" Manny asked. "Don't get mad, it just seems like all he wants is sex. He doesn't sit with you at lunch, he rarely talks to you, and you two barely ever go out to the movies or anything.

"Of course I love him and he loves me. He told me. So what if we don't go to the stupid movies. We make love almost every night and our love has created a child. It's natural."

"Whatever. I think we need to find out after school today. We should go to the store and get some tests. Do you have any allowance money left?" she asked.

"Yeah, I have 20," Emma said.

"Good. Now let's get back to lunch before JT comes to look for us." The two girls headed back to lunch, one incredibly excited, and the other, terribly upset.

* * *

When school ended, Manny told Chris she was going to hang out with Emma for the night. He kissed her goodbye, and the girls walked to the nearest drugstore. They found the aisle that had condoms and pregnancy tests.

"These things cost a fortune!" Emma exclaimed. The cheapest test cost 12.99.

"It doesn't matter Em. This is really important."

"I guess you're right," Emma said. They each picked the test that cost 15 because it was a better quality one, and then made their way to the cash register. The clerk stared at them and raised his eyebrows when they put the pregnancy tests on the counter.

"Both of our moms think they're pregnant! Isn't that great?" Manny lied, hoping he would believe her. He just shrugged his shoulders and rang up their purchase. They paid him and got out of there as fast as they could.

When they got back to Manny's house, Heather had gotten home from work early and picked the kids up from daycare. They were all sitting in the living room watching Sesame Street. "What did you two get at the store?" Heather asked.

"It's just girl stuff," Manny replied, and they both hurried into the kitchen. Emma went into the bathroom with the bag while Manny waited in the kitchen. A minute later, Emma came out and quickly went downstairs, careful not to drop the test. Manny then went into the bathroom and got the remaining pregnancy test kit out of the bag. She peed on the stick and was about to leave the bathroom when there was a knock on the door.

"What are you two doing?" Heather asked from the other side of the door.

"We both had to pee!" Manny replied.

"You know there's more than one bathroom right?" she questioned.

"Yeah, but it doesn't matter now, we both went. I didn't feel like going upstairs," Manny lied. They couldn't walk past the living room with used pregnancy tests in their hands.

"Okay, whatever," Heather said and walked back into the living room. Manny breathed a sigh of relief and exited the bathroom, running downstairs as Emma had a minute ago. She had her test in one hand, and the boxes in the other. She couldn't leave them in the bathroom for anyone to see. She put her pregnancy test on her desk to wait. Emma had placed hers on top of Manny's dresser.

"I'm so scared Em," Manny told her best friend.

"Don't worry Manny, no matter what, it's going to be alright. We have each other to get us through this," Emma reassured her. The next five minutes was the longest five minutes of both of their lives. Emma's test results appeared before Manny's. When Emma finally looked at the little stick that would decide her fate, she began to cry.

"What is it Em? Tell me," Manny said, anxiously.

"I'm…I'm not pregnant," Emma bawled. "I guess it is better this way. Craig and I can always have kids later." She sighed. "I just got so excited that we might become moms together. Manny sat in silence for the next minute. If Emma wasn't pregnant, then maybe she wasn't either. Of course, Emma hadn't been throwing up randomly.

When Manny looked at her watch again it was time to look. She walked over to her desk and looked down slowly. Tears began to fall down her cheeks and she didn't say a word.

"What does it say Manny? It is positive or negative?" she asked.

"It's…"

**A/N: Hah! I figured this would be a good time to stop the chapter…it'll keep you wondering. **


	12. Confusion

**Chapter 12: Confusion **

"…negative," Manny said softly. The tears were coming faster now. "Oh Emma," she said as she hugged her best friend. "I'm just so relieved." She sighed and sat down onto her bed.

"Are you gonna say anything to Chris?" Emma asked.

"No…there's no point to. I don't want to upset him or scare him away."

"Manny, he loves you. I don't think anything could make him leave you," Emma reassured her.

"But still, he doesn't need to know. You better not tell him either," Manny said. "If I feel like I should tell him at any time then I will."

"Well, this doesn't explain why you were throwing up so much," Emma said.

"Maybe I have a stomach bug or something. Jayden was sick that day I stayed home with him."

"But you weren't," Emma stated. "Were you?"

"Why do you say that?" Manny asked, getting nervous.

"Because Manny…you didn't go to school for the rest of the week. I talked to JT and he told me that you were with Mr. Oleander and that's why you didn't show up to meet me here. What happened in there?"

"Nothing happened! Emma, look, I'm so sick of people asking me about all this crap that's none of their business. If you really have to know, all I did was help Mr. O put away stupid books on the shelves."

"Look, I'm only trying to be a good friend. Don't get so mad at me, I was only worried about you. I still am," Emma said.

"Well, I'm not the one having unprotected sex every night. Em, that's not like you at all. You aren't even bothered by the consequences," Manny said.

"You don't have to worry about me anymore Manny. This whole pregnancy thing really scared me. I've realized that I shouldn't be acting this way and I'm not going to have sex with Craig anymore. At least not until we get married, if we even do," Emma told her.

"I'm proud of you Emma Nelson. I'm glad that you finally realized that you don't have to have sex with someone to prove your love. I found that out the hard way with a lecture from Jason and Heather. You're so lucky that Joey never walked in on you guys cause he would have really flipped out."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Craig told me that he loves me so I'm sure that he won't care if we have sex or not. But I know my mom is gonna be really mad if I don't get home soon. I'm supposed to help her make dinner," Emma said.

"I'll try to call you later tonight. If not, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye Manny."

"Bye Emma," Manny said as she watched Emma walk upstairs. She heard her say goodbye to Heather and heard the door close. Manny flopped down onto her bed and picked up the phone, dialing Chris' number. She looked over and saw all the pregnancy test boxes and sticks on her desk. She walked over and picked them up, and threw them into the trash can next to the bed. She knew that she would bring her own trash out after she talked to Chris.

The phone rang seven times before Manny hung up. _He must not be home, _she thought. _Great, now I have nothing to do all night._ She finally decided to go upstairs and find something to do.

"Manny, dinner's in an hour," Jason called to her as she walked by the kitchen. "I'm making pot roast and mashed potatoes."

"Sounds good. I'm just trying to find something to do until then," she told him as she walked back to the kitchen's doorway.

"Why don't you call Chris and have him come over. He can stay for dinner," he suggested.

"I already called him and no one answered. But thanks anyways," she replied and went into the living room. "What are you doing until dinner?" she asked Heather.

"I have to clean up around here. This place is a mess," she replied.

"I can help you if you need me to," Manny offered.

"No, that's okay. But I'm sure the kids would love for you to play with them."

"I'll go upstairs and see," she said as she took Quinn from Heather.

"Thanks, that'll be a big help."

"No problem," Manny told her as she made her way up the stairs. She found Jayden and Caleb in their playroom playing with cars on a rug made to look like a town, complete with streets and buildings. "Where's Anthony?" she asked them.

"We don't know," Caleb told her. "He's hiding."

"Where is he hiding?" she asked.

Jayden shrugged his shoulders. "We were playing hide and seek but we got bored," he told Manny.

"So you just left him?" she questioned.

"Uh huh. We know that he's not in any bathrooms. He's a good hider," Jayden explained.

"Jay, you can't leave your brother like that. He's too young to understand that you're not looking for him anymore."

"He's two. Mommy said he's a big boy because he can go on the potty," Jayden said innocently. Manny shook her head at him and put Quinn down in her playpen in the room. There was a toy in it that when she kicked it, it played music. She loved it, so Manny knew she wouldn't get upset if she left her there.

The first place she looked forAnthony was Heather and Jason's bedroom. He wasn't under the bed or in their closet. The next place Manny went to was Caleb and Anthony's bedroom. She slid open their closet door and saw a pair of legs sticking out from underneath the clothes. Manny pushed the shirts and pants apart to see Anthony standing there crying. "What's wrong honey?" she asked him.

"I hide. I go potty," he said, pointing to the wet spot on his pants.

"Oh, it's okay. Your brothers didn't come get you and you couldn't hold it. It's not your fault. Come on, let's go get you changed." She said to him, extending her hand. He took hold of it and Manny got new pants and underwear from his dresser and led him to the bathroom.

* * *

­­­­"Hey Jason, can you grab me the trash can under the sink? I'm trying to clean up a little before dinner," Heather told her husband. 

"Sure, here ya go," he said, handing it to her. Heather took the bag out of it and handed it back to him. She dumped the one in Manny's bathroom, and then went downstairs to her bedroom to collect that garbage. She picked up the trash can and almost dumped it, but something caught her eye. She saw two boxes for pregnancy tests, and each box had a used test in it. She threw one of them away and kept the other one.

Heather went upstairs and threw the trash into the barrel outside. Then she went into the kitchen and put the box in front of Jason's face. "We're gonna have to have a talk with Manny after dinner," she said to him, not very happy.

"Oh no," Jason groaned.

* * *

After dinner, Heather told the boys to go play upstairs for a little while before they went to bed. Jason dressed Quinn in her pajamas and put her in the playpen in the living room. Heather went to the top of the basement stairs and yelled down. "Hey Manny, we need to talk to you in the living room!" she called. 

"Chris, I gotta go. Heather and Jason want to talk to me," she said into the phone. "I love you too, see you tomorrow." Manny hung up the phone and went upstairs. "What can I do for you?" she asked them.

"Sit down please," Heather said, pointing to the couch across from them.

"Can you explain this?" Jason asked, holding out the box with the pregnancy test inside. Manny's eyes widened when she realized what it was. Before Manny could say anything, Heather began to talk.

"Is this what you and Emma were doing after school today? I saw two boxes in your trash can, but I didn't look at what either test said. Now you can explain," Heather said, stopping and staring at Manny until she spoke.

"Emma and I both thought we were pregnant," Manny said softly, her eyes fixed to the ground. "But they were both negative. Chris and I used a condom, you know that. But Emma and Craig haven't at all. We were both late and we bought them but we're not pregnant."

"Why didn't you just come to us?" Jason asked. "You know that we're your guardians but we're here to help you out."

"I don't know…I was just afraid. I didn't even want to tell Emma but I had to tell someone," Manny answered.

"Is this why you threw up this morning?" Heather asked.

"I don't know now. The test was negative so I guess not, but I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Well, sometimes those tests aren't right. You're gonna have to go to the doctor as soon as possible to find out," Jason told her.

"I'm going to call Dr. Murray and make an appointment for tomorrow," Heather said, getting up to get the phone. "And Manny, remember that you can talk to us about anything…don't be afraid to just talk," she said before leaving the room.

"Why don't you go get some sleep? I know it's not very late, but you'll probably have a big day tomorrow," Jason suggested.

"Okay. Thanks for not blowing up and screaming," she said and hugged him. "Goodnight." Manny walked into the kitchen and Heather was just getting off the phone with the doctor. "What did she say?"

"Your appointment is at 12:30 tomorrow afternoon. I'm going to sign you out of school early. Manny, I'm going to have to call Emma's parents and tell them about this," Heather told her.

"No! You can't call them. Spike and Snake would kill her. I'll make her tell them herself. I think they'd rather hear it from her," Manny promised.

"Fine, but if I find out that she never told, I'm going to call them," Heather warned.

"That sounds fair. I'm going to bed now; I'm really tired," Manny said as she yawned.

"Goodnight Manny," Heather said and gave her a hug.

"Night," she replied and went down to her room. She fell asleep right away even though she was worried about the appointment.


	13. Yes or No?

**Chapter 13: Yes or No?**

Manny woke up late the next morning, and in result, was late to school. Jason spoke to Mr. Radditch, making up some excuse for her, and Manny was excused for being late and got a pass to Media Immersions. The class was working on web page design and Manny got right to work. When she got some work done, she sent Emma an instant message.

MSant: Well, I have some news for you.

ENels: Do tell! Is it good or bad?

MSant: I haven't decided yet. Heather kinda found "the tests" in the trash.

ENels: OMG! She's not gonna tell my parents is she?

MSant: She said she'll tell if you don't tell them yourself. And she's taking me to the doctor today. J said that those aren't always right. So maybe yours was wrong. You should go too.

ENels: Nope, no point. I got it this morning. It was just abnormally late.

MSant: Oh. I'm scared Em.

ENels: Me too. Now I've got to tell my parents…

MSant: Uh oh! Snake is headed your way…close out…goodbye.

Snake made it to Emma's computer right as she was closing the box. "Emma, do your work," he told her.

"Yes Mr. Simpson," she said back. He turned away and she rolled her eyes at Manny.

'I'll talk to you later,' she mouthed to her. Manny told Chris that she was leaving school early that day, but she didn't say why. When it was finally 12:30, she went down to the office to find Heather there waiting for her. The car ride to the doctor was awkward. Manny was really nervous so she didn't talk the entire time.

Dr. Murray's office was in the Family Birthing Center at Degrassi Hospital. In the waiting room, Manny felt like everyone was staring at her. She was only being paranoid because most of the people probably thought Heather was there for an appointment and Manny was her daughter. She was relieved that all of the patients were gone by the time the nurse came out.

"Manuela Santos," the nurse called out. Manny got up and followed her into Exam Room #1. Heather stayed in the waiting room. "Okay Manuela. I'm going to have to ask you for a urine sample," she said, handing Manny a cup. "The bathroom is right there," she told her, pointing to the door on the right. "Dr. Murray will be in shortly. You can leave the cup in there." Manny went into the bathroom to fill the cup. She was so nervous that she began to shake when she sat down on the bed. Dr. Murray came into the room a few minutes later.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Murray," she said to Manny. "And you must be Manuela. I've heard a lot about you from Heather," she commented.

"Call me Manny. I don't mean to be rude but, is this going to take very long?" she asked.

"No it won't. I just have to ask you a few questions and do some blood work, then you'll be on your way. It's okay if you're nervous. Everyone is when they come to me," Dr. Murray reassured her. She asked Manny questions about being sexually active, how many partners she'd had, and a few other things. Manny didn't tell her about Craig and Mr. Oleander. She couldn't bring herself to. She wasn't going to tell anyone unless she was really pregnant. After Manny's blood was drawn, she hopped off of the bed and shook the doctor's hand.

"Well Manny, the results from the blood test will be back in about four hours. I'll call you as soon as I know," she told her.

"Thanks. I guess I'll talk to you later," Manny said as she left the room. Back in the car, Heather told Manny that she would just take her home so she could rest while she waited for the results. Manny went straight to her room when they got back and fell asleep. A few hours later, Heather called down and woke her up.

"Manny! Dr. Murray is on the phone for you!" she yelled. Manny instantly jumped out of bed and ran to the phone. She grabbed it out of Heather's hand and held it up to her ear.

"It's me…is the news good or bad?" she asked the doctor.

"Well, that depends on how you feel about it. Manny…you're pregnant," she said. Manny was speechless.

"Thanks," she said, hanging up the phone and trying not to cry. When she turned to Heather, however, she couldn't help it and the tears started coming. Heather wrapped her arms around Manny and hugged her. It was the only thing she could do.

* * *

It was 6:00 pm and Manny was downstairs in her room. She decided to have Chris come over for dinner and Heather and Jason said it was fine. (They told Jason about the results as soon as he had gotten home from work). Manny picked up her phone and dialed Chris' number. He answered on the second ring. 

"Hey Chris, it's me. Can you come over for dinner tonight? I have to tell you something…"

When she hung up the phone, she lay back onto her bed and turned her stereo on. The song was very fitting to her mood. Manny listened to the music, waiting for Chris to show up.

_Had a bad day don't talk to me  
__I'm gonna ride this out  
__My little black heart breaks apart  
__With your big mouth, and  
__I'm sick of my sickness  
__Don't touch me you'll get this  
__I'm useless, lazy, perverted,  
__And you hate me.  
__You can't save me  
__You can't change me  
__Well I'm waiting for my wakeup call  
__Everything's my fault  
__You can't save me  
__You can't blame me  
__I'm waiting here to take the fall  
__Everything, everything's my fault…_

**A/N: The song is "Save Me" by Unwritten Law…I do not own any of their songs/lyrics. **


	14. She Has To Tell Them

**Chapter 14: She Has To Tell Them**

It was 3:00 pm and Emma had just gotten home from school. She hadn't had a chance to talk to Manny since she left for her doctor's appointment at 12:30. Now Emma had to tell her parents about the sex, lies, and pregnancy test. _Here we go,_ she thought to herself and sighed. "Mom, Snake, can I talk to you for a minute in the living room?" she called out. Snake had brought her home from school as usual. He came out of the kitchen carrying Emma's brother, Jack.

"What do you need Em?" he asked her.

"I need mom in here too. That's why I called both of you. Can you sit down please? We all have to talk. And it would help if you put him down for one minute," she said, a little too rudely.

"Emma, stop being so rude. Your mother is coming; she's just in the bathroom." Just then, they heard the toilet flush and Spike came into the living room. She walked over and kissed Emma on the cheek.

"How was school today Em?" she asked her daughter.

"Fine, just like every other day. Listen, I really have to talk to you guys. It's really important and I have to tell you. You are not gonna like it at all so you both should sit down," Emma warned them. As soon as she said this, Spike and Snake sat down. Snake was still holding Jack, but he put him down as he sat.

"What is it Emma? I'm starting to get worried," Spike commented.

"Mom, Snake…I really have no idea how to put this, and since you'll find out if I don't tell you, I'll just say it. Craig and I have been having sex. I was really late, and when Manny told me she was too, we went to the store and got pregnancy tests. They were both…" Snake interrupted her at this point.

"You WHAT?" he yelled and stood up. Jack got scared and started to cry. "Emma I cannot believe you would do something like this! What is wrong with you?" Spike put her hand on Snake's arm and pushed him back down onto the couch.

"Let her finish Snake. I really want to hear this," she said calmly…too calmly. Anyone who knew her would know that she was keeping all her emotions inside and she was furious.

"What I was going to say is that both tests were negative. I got my period the next day, but Manny went to the doctor with Heather today. I haven't heard from her. Mom, I know I made a huge mistake, like you did when you were my age. I'm not going to have sex again until I'm married. This really scared me and I'm not going to do anything like it again. I promise," Emma finished.

"Did you at least use protection?" her mother asked her. Emma looked down at the floor before answering.

"No," she whispered. She couldn't say anything else. When she finally did look up, her mother was crying. "Mom I'm so sorry," Emma said and began to cry. She got up and hugged her mother. After a minute, Spike pulled Emma's arms from her and looked directly into her eyes.

"You were right. You did make a stupid mistake and it won't happen again because you are not going to see Craig any longer. He is not to come here again and you are not going over his house. I will be calling Joey to make sure this is enforced. I don't have to worry about school because Craig is not in your grade."

"Okay mom, I won't see him, I promise. I don't think he loved me anyway. Do you know how hard it is to love someone and suddenly not be able to love them anymore? That's how I feel right now," Emma said.

"I know exactly how you feel Em," her mom answered, remembering Shane's accident. She loved Emma's father with all her heart, but it just couldn't have worked out. Emma turned to Snake and gave him a hug too.

"I'm sorry that I was rude to you," she told him.

"And I'm sorry that I yelled."

"I'm gonna go downstairs now. I'll be up for dinner," Emma told them and kissed her brother on the head before going down to her room. Instead of calling Craig, Emma picked up her phone and called the local radio station.

* * *

Just at the right time, Craig turned his radio on in his bedroom. He heard Emma's voice as she dedicated a song to him. 

"This is Emma Nelson and this song is dedicated to Craig Manning. As much as it hurts, we can't see each other anymore. I loved you…" her voice trailed off, and Craig became angry. He left the radio on, however, and listened to the song.

_Late at night when all the world_ _is sleeping  
__I stay up and think of you  
__And I wish on a star that somewhere you are  
__Thinking of me too_

_Cause I'm dreaming of you tonight  
__Till tomorrow I'll be holding you tight  
__And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be  
__Than here in my room dreaming about you and me_

_Wonder if you ever see me  
__And I wonder if you know I'm there  
__If you looked in my eyes  
__Would you see what's inside?  
__Would you even care?_

_I just wanna hold you close  
__But so far all I have are dreams of you  
__So I wait for the day  
__And the courage to say how much I love you  
__Yes I do!_

_I'll be dreaming of you tonight  
__Till tomorrow I'll be holding you tight  
__And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be  
__Than here in my room dreaming about you and me_

_Corazón  
__I can't stop dreaming of you  
__No puedo dejar de pensar en ti  
__I can't stop dreaming  
__Cómo te necesito  
__I can't stop dreaming of you  
__Mi amor, cómo te extraño_

_Late at night when all the world is sleeping  
__I stay up and think of you  
__And I still can't believe  
__That you came up to me and said "I love you"  
__I love you too!_

_Now I'm dreaming with you tonight  
__Till tomorrow and for all of my life  
__And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be  
__Than here in my room dreaming of you endlessly_

_Dreaming of you tonight  
__Till tomorrow I'll be holding you tight  
__And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be  
__Than here in my room  
__I'll be dreaming of you tonight  
__Endlessly  
__And I'll be holding you tight  
__Dreaming...with you...tonight!_

**A/N: I had to put this song in here because it's the 10th anniversary of Selena's death today (3/31). :cries: I do not own the song/lyrics/music blah blah blah.  
**

**I'm not sure how old Jack is supposed to be since they are in grade 11 now…if anyone knows, let me know in a review and I'll fix it so he acts whatever age he's supposed to be…thanks! **


	15. It's Good To Let It Out

**Chapter 15: It's Good To Let It Out**

**A/N: Hey guys! Just to let you know, I fixed the part in the story that says Paige is with Spinner (Chapter 3). It now says: Paige used to be with Spinner but now she's with some older guy (aka Mr. Oleander).**

As soon as Manny heard the doorbell ring, she ran upstairs to let Chris in. She was surprised to see Chris' parents there with him. Heather was standing behind her. "We called them and told them to come. After you tell Chris, they should know," she whispered in her ear. Heather brought Chris' parents into the living room. Manny grabbed Chris by the arm and dragged him all the way to her room. They sat down on her couch.

"I really have to tell you something. It's hard for me to say, and you can't get mad," she told him. "Promise me you won't hate me."

"Manny, I could never hate you. I love you too much for anything to come between us. I'm getting a little worried though," he replied.

"Chris…I'm pregnant," she whispered, tears filling her eyes. Just by looking at his face, Manny could tell that he didn't know what to say. After a few minutes, he finally spoke.

"But we used a…" he started to say when she interrupted.

"You might not be the father," she said, very softly. Now Chris was really upset. Manny saw a tear fall down his cheek.

"How could you do this to me?" he asked quietly.

"I didn't do anything to you Chris. I love you just as much as you love me. I would never want to hurt you and you know that."

"So what are you gonna tell me now, someone raped you or something?" he asked, angrily. Manny could not believe what he just said. She couldn't even reply, but she burst into tears and turned away from him. She got up and lay down on her bed, her back to Chris.

"Manny…" Chris whispered, making his way to her bed. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Did someone rape you?" He sat down on the bed in front of her. She didn't say anything but simply nodded her head in reply. "Who did this to you? I'll kill him!" he started to yell.

"Chris, don't scream like that. I don't want anyone to hear you." She was still crying, but felt a little better since Chris wasn't mad at her at the moment. Manny sat up and threw her arms around him. He hugged her back and they were silent for a few minutes. They were both crying.

"It happened that day after school. The day I stayed after to help JT," she finally began. Manny told Chris the entire story, from the time she left the library, to the moment she got away from Craig and ran home. By the time she was finished, Chris was furious, and he was ready to kill Mr. Oleander and Craig.

"I want to tell you one thing Manny. No matter what happens, I'm always gonna be here for you. Even if this baby is not mine," he said, putting his hand to Manny's stomach. "I want to be the baby's father, no matter what any blood test says."

"Oh Chris, I love you so much. You know that, don't you?" she asked him.

"Of course I do. I love you too. But I think we need to tell our parents now. They need to know the whole truth," he said.

"Yeah, I guess we have to. But first I want to call Emma and her parents. I think they should be here too. I really don't want to have to tell this story over and over again," Manny said as she picked up the phone. She called Emma and explained that she had to tell everyone something important. Emma informed Manny that they would be over in a half hour, after they ate dinner.

"Manny! Chris! Dinner's ready!" Jason called down from upstairs. "Come and eat!" Chris and Manny went upstairs to eat. Everyone ate dinner in peace, making small talk. While Manny helped Heather clean up, she mentioned that Emma, Spike, and Snake would be coming over to hear the news. Right after she finished telling her, the doorbell rang.

Once the children were all put to bed and everyone was situated on couches or chairs in the living room, Manny asked them if they could all listen, that she and Chris had something to tell them. "As some of you know, I went to a doctor's appointment at 12:30 this afternoon. I had some blood work done. About four hours later, Dr. Murray called me back to tell me the results. I found out that I am pregnant," she told them.

Chris' parents were very shocked and did not say a word. Chris began to rub Manny's back, comforting her. Spike, Snake, and Emma could not say anything either. Heather and Jason already knew of course. "That's not the worst of the news," Manny confessed. "There is a big chance that Chris is not the father," she said and burst into tears. This time, even Heather and Jason did not know what to do. They had not been told about this.

"How could you do this Manuela?" Mrs. Hawkins yelled at her.

"Just how many boys have you slept with?" Mr. Hawkins yelled.

At this time, everyone began talking at once. Heather and Jason were both angry with Manny for not telling them, and angry with Chris' parents for yelling at her. Spike was trying to comfort Manny over all the noise because she knew exactly how it felt to be pregnant and alone. It wasn't working. Emma tried to get to Manny, but all the parents were in each other's faces, and she couldn't even make it across the room.

Quinn heard the commotion from her crib and began to cry. Manny was the only one to hear her. Desperate to get away from everything, Manny ran upstairs and picked Quinn up, rocking her back and forth. She sat down in the rocking chair with her and cried. Quinn, welcoming the company, stopped crying and simply looked up at Manny. No one had even noticed that Manny had left room.

All of a sudden, Chris began to yell above the noise. "That's enough!" he yelled. To his surprise, everyone stopped what they were doing. "Sit down!" he commanded, and everyone sat. "I'm really disappointed in all of you. I can't even tell who the adults in this room are. Mom and Dad, I really thought you would listen to the entire story before shouting accusations!" he finished.

"Where's Manny?" Emma asked, being the first one to notice Manny's absence.

"I don't know, but I'm not surprised that she left. You all ought to be ashamed of yourselves. None of this is Manny's fault," he said.

"Then whose fault is it Chris?" Snake asked suspiciously.

"Manny was raped," he stated. When he said this, there was complete silence. Not a single person talked or even moved.

"What?" Emma finally asked.

"It was that day she helped JT after school. Mr. Oleander asked her to put away books. He locked her in and he raped her. Then he let Craig in and Craig raped her too," he blurted it all out. "That's why she doesn't know who the father is."

"We had no idea," Jason stated, in shock. "She didn't even tell us."

"That's why she stayed home for the rest of that week," Heather added.

"I don't believe this. Why didn't she tell anyone?" Emma asked.

"I have no idea. I just found out right before dinner," Chris replied.

"She obviously didn't tell anyone because she was scared to. This has got to be so traumatic for her," Spike stated.

Meanwhile, back upstairs, Quinn had fallen back asleep and Manny put her into the crib. She could tell that the noise had stopped. She knew Chris must have told everyone what happened. She decided to go back downstairs and face this once and for all.

Everyone heard Manny coming down the stairs, and they all just stayed where they were and stared. Once she made it into the living room doorway, Chris hurried over to her and hugged her. She began to cry again, and everyone was crying with her. Chris held on tight, as if he would never let go.­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

* * *

The next day, Chris, Manny, and Emma all went to school as if nothing had happened. They acted as if it were just a normal Wednesday at DCS. They were all tired because everyone stayed at the Daniels' house until almost 12am. They all talked calmly about the entire situation and what they were going to do about it. 

Paige ran up to Mr. Oleander the moment she saw him at school. "Matt, I need to talk to you," she said as she approached him.

"What is it Paige? We're not supposed to even talk at school, you know that," he whispered.

"I…well…I kinda met someone else. Well, it's not like that, I just like someone, and this relationship is not good for either of us," she quickly explained. She could tell that he was getting angry. Instead of responding right away, Matt grabbed Paige's arms and shoved her against the lockers.

"You are _not _leaving me Paige. I won't let you!" He was too busy being angry that he didn't notice the people coming up behind him.

"Matthew Oleander, you are under arrest for the rape of Manuela Santos," the police officer said. "Get your hands off of this student before any further charges are added." Mr. Oleander loosened his grip on Paige's arms and turned around to face the officer.

"Officer Perez, is it? I don't know what you are talking about," he lied. Officer Perez turned Mr. O around and slapped handcuffs on him. He led him away to the cruiser that was parked in front of the school. Paige didn't understand what was going on. She was crying, and bruises were forming where her former boyfriend grabbed her.

"Are you okay?" The other officer, a woman, asked Paige.

"Yeah, I'm fine. He just scared me a little," she said.

"Well, I don't know what he was doing with you just now, but it didn't look too good. You'd better stay away from him from now on. From the sound of things, he's not too friendly," she warned Paige.

"Don't worry, I don't want anything to do with him," she reassured the officer, and she meant it. She hurried away, eager to find Manny and see if it was all true.­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

* * *

Manny, Emma, and Chris were at their lockers, getting everything they needed for class, and putting away what they didn't need. Craig walked up to the lockers. "Emma, why did you break up with me?" he asked. He was very upset. "I heard it, on the radio. How could you do that to me?" He looked at Manny as if he just noticed her standing there. When Emma didn't say anything to Craig, he moved closer to Manny. 

All of a sudden, he grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her against the lockers. "You did this to me! You took Emma away from me! I thought I already taught you a lesson!" he yelled in her face. Manny began to cry and Emma started screaming at him.

"Craig! Stop it! Leave her alone!" she yelled at her ex-boyfriend. Craig didn't listen. He slammed Manny against the lockers one more time and threw her to the ground. Manny screamed as she fell. She sat up and held onto her stomach, trying to protect her baby.

"Craig!" Chris yelled from behind him. Craig turned around just in time to get a face-full of Chris' fist. Chris punched him one more time and twisted Craig's arm behind his back, shoving Craig face-first into the lockers. "She's pregnant you asshole," he said to Craig. "And I swear, if that baby's yours, I'm going to kill you."

"I'll take it from here," Officer Harding said as she walked up behind them. She grabbed handcuffed Craig and led him away. "You are under arrest for the rape of Manuela Santos," she told him.

"It wasn't me! I swear! It was Mr. Oleander," Craig protested

"Oh we already have him," she said. Then she began telling him his rights. Chris helped Manny up.

"Are you okay?" Chris asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Oh great, here comes Paige. She looks pissed. I bet she'll blame me for her boyfriend being arrested," Manny said.

"But I thought Craig was with Emma," he said, a little confused.

"He was. Her boyfriend was Mr. Oleander," Manny said. Emma and Chris looked at her in disbelief. Manny was the only one who knew about Mr. O and Paige. Hazel didn't even know, and she was Paige's best friend.

Paige was charging towards Manny now. "Paige, wait, before you…" Manny began, but she wasn't listening. She threw her arms around Manny and hugged her.

"Manny I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I would have told someone but I didn't know," she said. She was crying now.

"It's okay Paige. It's not your fault."

"Craig too?" Paige asked. "I saw him being led out of the school."

"Yeah, him too," Manny said sadly. When Paige finally let go, Manny turned to Chris and Emma. "Hey guys, I don't think I'm going to class, at least not right now. Can you tell Mr. Simpson for me?"

"Sure. Don't worry about it Manny. We'll see you later," Emma told her. She gave Manny a hug before heading to homeroom. Chris gave her a kiss.

"I'll see you later okay? I love you," he told her.

"I love you too," she said as he walked away. "Come on Paige, let's go talk," Manny said.

**A/N: I'm not posting any more until I get more reviews! So tell your friends:) **


	16. Let's Talk

**Chapter 16: Let's Talk**

**A/N: If you haven't looked at my profile, I just want to let you know that for this story, Craig and Manny never had sex, which means she never got pregnant and had an abortion.**

Manny and Paige found an empty classroom and went in to talk. They closed the door and sat down. They were both sitting on the floor with their legs crossed, facing each other.

"I'm so sorry Manny," Paige repeated.

"It's not your fault. You have nothing to be sorry for," Manny told her.

"I just can't believe any of this has happened," she said, beginning to cry.

"Um, Paige?"

"Yeah Manny?"

"I can't be on the Spirit Squad anymore. At least not for this year," Manny told her.

"Why? Is it because you don't want to have to hang around me? Because if it is, I don't want you quitting Spirit Squad; you love it too much."

"It's not that, I just…" she trailed off. "I can't do it because I'm pregnant," she confessed.

"Oh my god Manny! Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm definitely positive. I went to the doctor yesterday."

"Do you know who…?" Paige began to ask.

"No. It could be Craig or Mr. Oleander. I'm hoping that it's Chris," Manny said. "I feel like such a slut."

"Manny you're not a slut. What they did to you was not right. We have to fight them," Paige told her.

"It won't work. There's no evidence against them. The only reason they were arrested was because Jason is friends with the Chief of Police. There's no use fighting it," Manny explained.

"Yes there is. I know how we can. Follow me," Paige told Manny as she grabbed her hand and led her out of the room.

* * *

The two girls ditched school and went with Jason and Heather to talk to their lawyer. Paige confessed to the lawyer that she and Mr. Oleander had sex. She said that if he couldn't be convicted for rape, then he'd go to prison for statutory rape since she was only seventeen. When she was finished telling the lawyer, Manny objected. 

"But Paige! You could be kicked out of Degrassi if everyone finds out. Then you'd have to go to Bardell!"

"Manny, let's just hope that doesn't happen," Paige said, thinking about Dean, the boy from Bardell that had raped her.

* * *

They had to wait two more weeks until the trial. While they waited, Manny became more and more nervous. She was positive that she would lose the trial, because Paige lost hers against Dean. 

"There's not enough evidence!" Manny shouted at Paige. It was the day of the trial. Paige, Emma, and Manny were in Mr. Simpson's car, driving to the courthouse.

"Don't worry Manny! I am going to make sure that Mr. Oleander pays for what he's done," Paige reassured her.

"But Craig will still get off, won't he?" Emma asked.

"He probably will. You have to have some hope girls," Snake interjected. "You never know, the jury might believe you."

"We're here," Manny announced sadly. They got out of the car and met up with Jason, Heather, Spike, Chris, his parents, Paige's parents, and the lawyers on the front steps. Manny had Jason and Heather's lawyer, Paige's lawyer, and Mr. Simpson's lawyer working on her case. Everyone went in the building and up to the courtroom.

Manny had to excuse herself from the room as soon as they sat down. She went to the bathroom and threw up, unsure if it was morning sickness or nervousness about the case. Emma and Paige followed her to the bathroom.

"It's going to be okay, no matter what," Paige told her.

"Yeah, we're both here for you," Emma added.

"Thanks guys," Manny said and hugged them both. "We better get back to the room before the trial starts. When the girls made it back to the courtroom, JT and Mr. Radditch were there. Craig and Mr. Oleander were also there. Manny's stomach started to hurt the moment she saw them, but she pulled herself together and sat down.

Manny was the first person to testify. She told the entire story, which took almost an hour. She had to take breaks in between because she couldn't stop crying. After she was finally done, Emma went up to tell about Manny not showing up when they were supposed to meet.

"She could have just been blowing you off, couldn't she?" Craig's lawyer asked Emma.

"No, she wouldn't do that to me. If she couldn't make it, she would have called," Emma responded.

"Or maybe she was too busy with her new boyfriend. No further questions." She didn't even get a chance to say anything else. The next person was JT. He explained what time Manny finished helping him in the library. He also mentioned the fact that Manny told him she was in Mr. Oleander's classroom during the time that the supposed crime was committed.

Mr. Oleander went up. When his lawyer asked what happened that day after school he replied, "I was putting away books in my room when Ms. Santos walked in and asked if I needed help. I told her I didn't, but she started helping anyway. After about ten minutes, she threw herself at me. I didn't like the way she was acting, so I kicked her out of the room."

"That is such bullshit!" A voice called from the back of the room. It was JT.

"Young man, another outburst like that and you will be out of my courtroom," the judge snapped at him.

Mr. Radditch testified next. He told the jury about seeing Manny and Craig in the hall. "She was very distraught. I could tell that something was up," he said.

"But you didn't do anything about it did you? You didn't confront my client even though you saw them coming out of his classroom?" Mr. O's lawyer asked.

"I didn't see them coming…"

"Answer the question Mr. Radditch!"

"No," he answered.

"No further questions your honor."

Now it was Craig's turn to take the stand. The story he told was a complete lie, but it was very convincing. "I don't believe that Manny would throw herself at Mr. Oleander. He's not her type," he said.

"I object! That is not relevant!" Mr. Oleander's lawyer yelled.

"Is there a point to this Mr. Manning?" the judge asked.

"Yes sir, there is."

"Objection overruled. Please continue."

"Well, as I was saying, she wouldn't do that. I stayed after school that day to work on my English project. Mrs. Kwan was pretty mad that it was so late. Anyway, I walked by Mr. Oleander's room and the door was closed. I noticed the light was still on, so I knocked on the door, as Manny stated. There was no answer, but I could hear something going on. I tried the door and it was locked. Then I sorta picked the lock…I know I shouldn't have, but I had a bad feeling. I opened the door and…" he paused. "I'm sorry, this just really upsets me," Craig lied. He was forcing himself to cry. A fake tear fell down his cheek before he continued. "He was raping Manny. All I could see was this girl I love being violated by this pervert, and I lost it. I pulled Mr. Oleander off of her and started yelling, and he yelled back. Manny and I ran away from him and bumped into Mr. Radditch. I was afraid to tell him the truth. Mr. Oleander…he…he told me that he would rape me too if I told." At this point, Craig really began to cry. It was still fake, of course, but he was good at it. Mr. Oleander was fuming, but he knew he couldn't object or he'd get in bigger trouble.

"Craig, I know this is hard for you. Can you tell me why Ms. Santos would say that you raped her?" his lawyer asked.

"Well, I don't know. I mean, I helped her out, and I thought she'd be grateful. I really think she was just scared. Or maybe, just maybe, she wanted to get rid of me so she could be with Chris."

"No further questions."

There was a thirty minute recess after Craig talked. Everyone left the courthouse to get lunch from the food cart outside.

"Counselor, are there any more witnesses?" the judge asked Manny's lawyer once everyone was situated back in the room.

"Yes sir. There's one more," he answered.

"Okay, call your last witness."

"Your honor, I'd like to call to the stand Paige Michalchuk." Paige was sworn in and sat down.

"Now Paige, do you think that Mr. Oleander raped Manuela?" the lawyer asked.

"Yes, I do."

"To my knowledge, you did not witness any of the crime, so tell us why you think it is possible."

"Because we had sex," she said quietly.

"You had sex? So this means that he would rape someone?" he questioned.

"Well, no. I mean, that's not the whole thing. One day I left school during lunchtime with Matt…"

"Matt?"

"Mr. Oleander," Paige clarified. "Anyway, he brought me back to his house. We were sitting on the couch eating and he kissed me. Then he tried to lay me down, but I didn't want to. He kept pushing the subject and told me that it would all be okay. He was just getting so mad that I finally gave in. He didn't rape me, but his behavior that day gives me reason to believe he would have. Plus, he was mad at me for avoiding him, and not calling him back, so he took it out on Manny because he knew we were on Spirit Squad together," she finished.

"I see. Now, Paige, can you tell the court how old you are?" he asked.

"I'm seventeen."

"Seventeen? I believe that would be statutory rape, wouldn't it?"

"Yes it is," Paige said.

"You little bitch!" Mr. Oleander yelled at Paige as he jumped up. This caused everyone in the courtroom to start commenting.

"Order!" the judge yelled. "Mr. Oleander, do you want to be held in contempt?"

"No sir," he answered quietly.

"Then I suggest you sit down before that happens. Now, with this outburst in mind, it appears that what Paige here is saying is true. The charge of statutory rape will be added to the list. Mr. Hill, do you have any questions for her?" the judge asked Mr. Oleander's lawyer.

"Yes your honor," he replied and approached Paige. "Can you tell me if you have any proof of your sexual intercourse with my client?" he asked her.

"Yes I do. My lawyer has it with him," she replied. Paige's lawyer brought out some paper work and showed it to the court clerk who had to check it before it could be handed to the jury. Once it was passed around to everyone on the jury, it was handed to Mr. Hill.

"This paperwork says that you are pregnant," Mr. Hill stated. Manny, as well as everyone else gasped.

"That is correct," Paige told him.

"And how do you know that Mr. Oleander is the father?" he asked.

"Because he's the only person I've ever had sex with."

"How are we supposed to know if that is true or not?"

"The same way you believed the whole story that Craig told. I was sworn in, as was he, and I vowed to tell the truth. So I am," she said. She was making Mr. Hill look very stupid.

"No further questions."

Paige sat down next to Manny and the girls were crying and hugging each other. The lawyers had their closing statements, and the jury left the room to go over all the evidence.

"Paige, why didn't you tell me?" Manny asked her about the pregnancy. They were waiting outside the courtroom.

"I was waiting for the right time. I wasn't going to reveal it in court unless I was asked for evidence. Which I was," Paige pointed out.

"Now our kids might be related," Manny joked nervously.

"For your sake, I hope not," Paige told her.

"Thanks. But at least they can be friends. How far along are you?"

"A month. Manny, I think it happened the day after he…" she trailed off and began to cry again.

"It's okay Paige. None of this is your fault at all. I'm not mad at you or anything. Don't worry about it. We can get through this together okay?"

"Okay," she said. At that time, one of the court marshals told them that they could all go back into the room. They had been waiting for an hour and a half.

"The jury will now deliver their verdict," the judge announced. Paige held onto Manny's hand for comfort. They were both praying that both Craig and Mr. Oleander would be convicted. The woman sitting in the last seat, closest to the judge, stood up and began to read off of a piece of paper.

"In the case of Santos versus Manning, we, the people of the jury, find Craig Manning not guilty."

Craig jumped up and hugged his lawyer. He looked over at Manny and smiled. She was crying. "They're both going to get off, I knew it," she whispered to Paige, trying to wipe her tears away.

"In the case of Santos versus Oleander, for the charge of the statutory rape of Paige Michalchuck, we find Matthew Oleander guilty."

Mr. Oleander was extremely angry. He glared at Paige, who was being congratulated by Manny.

"On the charge of rape, we find Matthew Oleander…"

**A/N: You'll have to wait for Chapter 17! Just to let everyone know, I know that normally, there would be two separate trials for Craig and Mr. O, but I decided to do it this way because it was easier. There would also probably be a new trial for the statutory rape thing, against Paige, but again, this way was easier. Review!**


	17. We've Got Each Other

**Chapter Seventeen: We've Got Each Other **

**A/N: Sorry it took so long! I've been so busy, and it's spring vacation. Hope you like it…**

"Guilty," the woman proudly stated. Manny let out a huge sigh.

"We did it Paige!" she yelled as she hugged her. Everyone who had been there to support Manny and Paige were congratulating them. Manny got hugs from everyone, including Mr. Radditch, who then looked over at Mr. Oleander, completely disgusted.

"Order!" the judge shouted. "There is still a matter of sentencing." Then entire courtroom was silent. Mr. Oleander was slumped over the table. "Look at me, Oleander!" he ordered. "For the statutory rape charge, you are sentenced to 3 years in prison. And, for the rape of Ms. Santos, you will serve 5 years. That is a total of 8 years of incarceration. The court is now dismissed," he finished. Mr. Oleander was handcuffed and led away by two Court Marshals. "Congratulations Ms. Santos," the judge said to Manny.

"Sir, may I ask you a question?" she asked him.

"Of course you can. Approach the bench," he said, chuckling.

"Would it be possible for me to get a restraining order against Craig Manning?" she asked him. "I know he wasn't charged with anything, but he did rape me. I'm just afraid he'll try to hurt me or my baby. I can't take that chance."

"Yes, you will be able to get one," he told her. As he explained everything to her, Jason and Heather were talking with Spike and Snake on the other side of the room.

"I cannot believe that Craig wasn't convicted. That really pisses me off," Jason said.

"Well, at least we can be grateful that Mr. Oleander was put away for awhile. Let's just hope that baby isn't his," Spike pointed out.

"But we know that Paige's baby is his," Snake commented sadly. "I have talked with Mr. Radditch and because of the circumstances; Paige won't be getting kicked out of school."

"You know what really makes me mad," Heather stated.

"What?" Jason asked her.

"I called Manny's parents this morning to remind them of the trial date, and they didn't show up. It's like they don't even care about her anymore."

"We're her family now," Jason told her. "She doesn't need people who treat her like that."

"We will always be here to help too," Snake said. Right then, Manny walked up.

"Can we go now?" she asked.

"Of course we can," Spike said. "Let's go out and celebrate. All of us."

Manny put one arm around Paige, and another around Emma, and they led the way out of the courtroom. "Paige, I still can't believe that you're pregnant too," she stated.

"Me neither," Paige said.

"I don't understand though," Emma said. "I thought you said that you broke up with Mr. Oleander for another guy. "

"I did. I was going to do a really horrible thing," Paige told them. "I was going to go back out with Spinner, get him to have sex with me, and try to pass the baby off as his. But I'm really glad that I didn't. I do still like him, I just can't imagine hurting him if he found out he wasn't the baby's father. And he'd probably find out eventually; everyone would have."

"Well, we are celebrating now, so we don't have to think about any of this for the rest of the night," Manny told her. "Let's go." The three girls, Chris, JT, all of their parents (including Jason and Heather, but not Manny's parents), Mr. Radditch, and even the three lawyers went out to dinner to celebrate Mr. Oleander's conviction.

That night, Emma and Paige slept over Manny's. The next day was Sunday, and Jason and Heather took Manny to file for a restraining order against Craig. He was not allowed to come within ten feet of Manny at any time, including at school. If he violated the order, he could be fined or sent to prison.

* * *

"Manny! Wake up or you'll be late for school!" Heather yelled from the top of the basement stairs. It was Monday morning, the worst day of the week. Manny and Paige were both a month along, but weren't showing yet. They both still had morning sickness, but Paige's was not as bad as Manny's. 

"Ugh, I don't want to get up," Manny yelled back.

"You have to. You're not missing any more school!"

"Fine! I'm up!" Manny yelled again. She rolled over, opened her eyes, and smiled. "Hey babe, wake up. It's time for school," she said as she poked Chris. He opened his eyes and smiled back, putting his arms around her.

"Good morning," he said, kissing her on the top of the head. They both got up and went upstairs for breakfast. Jason and the kids were all sleeping since he had the day off.

"Hey Chris, I spoke to your mother last night and your father will be bringing the rest of your stuff over after school today," she told him. "I'm going to work early today, so I'll see you two later." After a long discussion on Saturday night, Chris' parents had agreed to let him move in with Manny. He said that he wanted to be there for her entire pregnancy, whether he was the father or not.

"What do you say we minimize the use of water this morning?" Manny playfully asked Chris. A huge grin spread across his face.

"But of course," he replied. "Let's go." He grabbed her hand and led her upstairs to the bathroom where they took a shower together.

"I don't want to get fat," Manny pouted while Chris lathered her back with soap and washed it off. He put his arms around her and pulled her close to him, hugging her. She had her back to him.

"You will be beautiful, no matter what. Now stop complaining and wash my back," he said. Manny laughed and spun around to kiss him. "Or we could just do this." He kissed her back. Manny reached around him and turned the water off. They stood that way for a few minutes, their naked bodies clung together, dripping wet. "As much as I'd love to do this all day, we have to go before we're late," Chris commented.

"Yeah, I guess so," Manny responded. They dried themselves off, and put towels on. When they emerged from the bathroom, Jason was walking by, on his way downstairs.

"Whoa. I don't even wanna know," he said, laughing. Manny and Chris went down to their room and got dressed. They said goodbye to Jason and Chris drove them to school. They ended up arriving ten minutes early, giving them enough time to stop by their lockers.

"Hey Emma!" Manny squealed.

"As much as I love my best friend being so happy, why are you in such a good mood thismorning?" she asked.

"We took a shower together," Manny answered, motioning towards Chris. Emma rolled her eyes and turned back to her locker, shoving a book into it. "Look who it is. He better keep on walking," Manny said, causing Emma to shut her locker and look. Craig stopped right at Emma's locker, waving a piece of paper in her face.

"What's this?" he asked, angrily.

"It's a copy of the restraining order that you're violating right now. I took the liberty of taping it to your locker this morning, just to remind you. Move along Craig, or I'll have to call the police," Emma said as she glared at him. He ignored her, however, and turned around to face Manny. Chris saw what was happening and began to walk across the hall.

"How is my baby?" he asked, placing his hand on Manny's stomach. She ripped his hand off.

"It's not yours," she spat.

"You don't know that for sure, do you?" he asked and grinned. He reached over to touch her stomach again and Chris intercepted his hand.

"Go away now," Chris said, forcefully.

"Oh like I'm really scared of you. What are you going to do, punch me again?" Craig mocked him.

"That's not such a bad idea," he said, drawing back his fist.

"Mr. Hawkins, there will be none of that in my school," Mr. Radditch said as he walked up. "Put your fist down," he ordered. Chris obeyed and dropped his arm. Craig smirked behind the principal's back. "And Craig, I suggest you get to class before I decide to call the police," he said, turning around to face him. It was now Chris' turn to smirk. Once Craig walked away, Mr. Radditch spoke again. "I advise you three to go to homeroom as well. Don't be late," he added as he walked off.

"Hey," Paige said as she tapped Manny on the shoulder. No one had seen her coming over to them.

"I'll meet you in homeroom," Manny said to Chris. "See you in Chemistry Em," she added, and then turned back to Paige. "Hey I was going to ask you if you wanted to come over after school and help Chris and I arrange our room so all of his stuff can fit."

"Sure," Paige said, and then burst into tears.

"What's wrong? If you don't want to, you really don't have to," Manny said.

"It's not that. Oh Manny, why does everything have to go so wrong? I told Hazel this morning that I had to quit Spirit Squad because I'm pregnant. She flipped out because I hadn't told her first, and she found out about the trial and everything. She's really mad because I didn't talk to her about any of this. Now we're not even friends anymore," she cried. "I feel stupid, but I don't have anyone to support me, you know? You have Chris, and Emma, and everyone. But I don't," she finished.

"You have your parents, and you have me," Manny pointed out. "I won't abandon you Paige."

"Well, my dad's going back to the states tomorrow. I was really surprised that he flew out for the trial and everything. But I guess I do still have my mom. And you. Thanks Manny." She hugged her and said goodbye as she walked off to her own homeroom. Both girls new that school was not going to be easy from now on, but they'd somehow get through it.

**Well, that's it for now! I know the chapter's not that long, but it's only to fill in before better things happen. **


	18. Big News

**Chapter Eighteen: Big News **

**A/N: This chapter takes place three and a half months after Chapter Seventeen.**

"I'm so excited!" Manny squealed to Paige over the phone.

"Me too!" Paige squealed in return. "What time is it hon?" she asked.

"It's 11:30. Aren't you ready yet? Chris is getting impatient."

"I am not!" Paige heard Chris yell in the background. "I just want to know!" he said.

"Okay, all I have to do is fix my hair. I should be done by the time you get here. See you then. Bye!" Paige said as she hung up the phone. Manny and Paige were both four and a half months pregnant. They had both started to show around the beginning of February, and the babies were due in July. Both girls were over their morning sickness, as they were in their 2nd trimester.

"I'm so glad that I'm not puking any more," Manny commented to Chris.

"Me too. Holding your hair was starting to get hard," he joked. Manny playfully shoved him, but knocked him over onto their bed. "Hey! You don't know your own strength any more."

"Oh, just shut up and kiss me," Manny said, as she leaned over on top of him. They shared a kiss, and Chris sat up, pulling Manny into his lap.

"Yeah, remember what happened the last time we did this," he said, patting her stomach.

"Or didn't happen," Manny said sadly, getting up and turning away from him.

"I'm sorry, I just keep forgetting," Chris apologized.

"Well, I'll never forget. Chris, I just don't know what I'll do if you're not the father. I'll just die," she said, tears streaming down her face. Chris got up and walked over to her. He put his arms around her shoulders and hugged her.

"Don't say that. Everything's going to be fine. I know it will," he reassured her. "Now let's go. Paige is probably sitting on her front steps by now."

"Yeah, sure she is. I have a feeling we'll be waiting outside for her for quite a while," Manny said and laughed.

"Now there's the laugh I fell in love with," Chris said, and kissed Manny on the cheek. They both went upstairs, said goodbye to everyone, and headed over to Paige's house. The girls were going to have their first sonograms. They were off school for a week due to February vacation. Sure enough, Chris pulled up outside Paige's and she wasn't waiting for them.

"I'll go in and get her," Manny offered. "This may take awhile."

"Well, tell her that if we miss this appointment, I won't be taking her anywhere anymore," Chris said.

"Don't get in a bad mood now. Plus, she probably wouldn't care, seeing as she could probably drive herself."

"Remind me why I'm taking her then," he said.

"Stop being so rude Chris. She doesn't have anyone but me. If you keep acting like this, I'll just go with Paige." By now, Manny had gotten out of the car and was talking to him through the window.

"Fine. You just do that!" he said angrily. The next thing Manny knew, she was standing there watching Chris speed away.

"Jerk!" Manny screamed at the top of her lungs. She began to cry. This was the first fight she'd ever had with Chris. She turned around to see Paige opening the door. Manny ran up the steps and past Paige, right into the house.

"What's wrong? Where's Chris?" she asked.

"We got into a fight and he drove off," she cried. "He was being really mean, all because he was afraid to be late for the appointment."

"It's okay, we can just take my car then," Paige said, trying to calm her down.

"That's not the issue Paige! I can't lose him, I just can't," she sobbed.

"Snap out of it Manny! You're not going to lose him. He loves you. Now stop crying, we've got an appointment to get to." she said.

"Sorry. I meant to ask you if you had talked to Spinner recently. I thought you were still trying to get back with him," Manny said.

"Well, I was. I even called him up and asked him to come to the appointment with me. He said no. He hates me now because Hazel convinced him to. Honestly, I don't know what I ever saw in him. He has no backbone. He'll never make it on his own. But enough of that, let's go," she finished.

"I'll drive," Marco said as he came out of the bathroom.

"Hey Marco! I didn't know you were here," Manny said, giving him a hug.

"Yeah, he agreed to come with me so I wouldn't be alone. Isn't he so sweet?" Paige said.

"Come on guys! You don't want to be late to this appointment," Marco said, pushing them out the door.

"That's just what Chris got all hung up about. Maybe you can knock some sense into that boy's head the next time you see him," Paige said. "Bye mom!" she called as Marco shut the door. After only five minutes of driving, they arrived at the doctor's office. Manny was hoping that Chris would be waiting for her, but when they entered the waiting room, she saw that he wasn't.

"Now I'm going to be alone," Manny sighed as she said down to wait. Paige told her not to worry about it. When a few more minutes had passed, a nurse came through the door on their left.

"Manuela Santos," she called.

"That's me," Manny said as she stood up. She looked back at Paige who gave her a comforting smile. "See you in a bit," she told her.

"Do you want us to come in?" Marco asked.

"No that's okay. I'll do this on my own if I can't have Chris here." She turned and followed the nurse through the door, down the hall, and into the room.

"You'll have to get undressed. You can leave your bra and underwear on, and put this gown on. The doctor will be in shortly," she said, handing Manny the gown and left the room.

Manny got changed, and then sat down on the doctor's stool in the corner. A few minutes later, Dr. Murray entered the room. "How are you feeling today Manny?" she asked.

"Better than usual. I'm morning sickness free," she said, laughing.

"Where's that boyfriend of yours?" the doctor asked.

"Um, he couldn't make it today. He was busy," Manny lied.

"Well, we can start by weighing you, if you'll step up on that scale there," Dr. Murray said. Manny got up and stepped onto it. "Now let's see," she said, fiddling with it.

"Wait! I'm here!" a voice called from outside. The door burst open.

"I'm sorry Dr. Murray," the nurse called, out of breath. "I couldn't stop him."

Manny jumped off the scale and ran over to Chris, hugging him. "I'm so glad you came," she told him.

"It's okay, he's with her," Dr. Murray said to the nurse, who then closed the door and left.

"I'm so sorry Manny. I don't know what came over me. I love you and I really want to be here," he told her and kissed her softly on the lips.

"I love you too," she whispered in his ear.

"Well, as glad as I am to see you two so happy, we really have to get back to this appointment. We don't want to keep Paige waiting," Dr. Murray commented.

"Right, sorry," Chris said. "I'll just sit over here and get out of the way." He sat down in the chair that was next to the table-like bed that Manny would soon be lying on. Manny stepped on the scale once again, and this time, the doctor was able to finish.

"You've gained about seven pounds since you were here last. That's pretty good, but you'll still need to gain about ten more," Dr. Murray told her. "Now, if you just climb on up here, we can get to that sonogram," she said, pointing to the bed. Manny did as she was told, and laid down. Chris stood up and grabbed her hand. Dr. Murray rolled the ultrasound machine over next to the bed. She put jelly on the end of the transducer and pulled Manny's gown up past her stomach.

"Just to warn you, this is going to be a little cold," she said, before placing it down on Manny's stomach. Manny flinched when it touched her skin, but then relaxed. After moving the transducer around for a minute or two, the picture on the screen became clear. "There's your baby," she told Manny.

Manny began to cry. "It's so beautiful," she said, as she reached out and touched the screen.

"Would you like to know the sex?" the doctor asked.

"So we don't have to call the baby it for the next 5 months," Chris said.

"This is what I've been waiting for. Of course I want to know," Manny said excitedly.

"Let's see now…oh my…" she trailed off.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Manny asked frantically. She looked over at Chris, who had the same worried look on his face.

"Nothing's wrong, it's okay," she reassured them both. "I don't know how to tell you this, but there are two heartbeats on here," she said, pointing to the bottom left corner of the screen.

"What?" Manny asked, alarmed. "I'm having twins?"

"It appears that way. I just don't see a second baby…" she moved the transducer again, and all of a sudden, the second baby appeared, hiding behind the first. "There," she said. "Baby A is a boy and Baby B is…" she paused, searching. "A girl," she said.

"Did you hear that? We're having a boy and a girl!" Manny said to Chris excitedly. He was speechless.

"Well, now I'm sure we'll be living with Heather and Jason for a long time," he said, stretching out the 'o' in long. Manny kissed him and held it for a couple of minutes.

"I'm going to print out a few of these so that you can see both babies," Dr. Murray interrupted. She did as she said, and handed the photos to Chris and Manny. "Well, I will see you again, same time next month," she said.

"Thank you so much Dr. Murray," Manny said. Chris shook her hand and they both headed back to the waiting room.

"Send Paige back for me," she yelled after them.

"Guess what!" Manny squealed as soon as they entered the room. "We're having twins!" she yelled to Paige and Marco.

"Congratulations," Marco said, giving Manny and Chris hugs.

"Twins?" Paige questioned, still seated. "Oh I hope I'm not having twins. That would be more than I could handle," she said. "Wow, I'm being rude. Congratulations Manny."

"Thanks. Dr. Murray said for us to send you back there. Good luck," she added. Paige and Marco made their way to see the doctor. Chris and Manny promised to wait for them in the waiting room.

Dr. Murray weight Paige and then had her lay down, as she did with Manny. She looked over at Marco, as if noticing him for the first time. "I haven't seen you before. Are you the lucky dad?" she asked.

"Uh…no…I'm the supportive best friend," he said. "I won't be finding myself in this situation any time soon," he joked.

"More like never," Paige said. A single tear rolled down her cheek, but neither the doctor nor Marco noticed. Dr. Murray told Paige that the jelly would be cold, and put the transducer on her stomach. "I'm not having twins am I?" Paige said, worried. After all, there was a possibility that Mr. Oleander was the father of Manny's twins, and Paige knew he had twin sisters.

"One baby, one heartbeat. No twins," Dr. Murray told her. Paige let out a sigh of relief. "Want to know the sex?" she asked.

"No, I want it to be a surprise," Paige answered.

"I wanted to know!" Marco interjected.

"Too bad, you'll just have to wait like everyone else," Paige told him. The doctor printed two pictures out for her. They made their way back to the waiting room.

"She's making us all wait to find out," Marco complained to Manny as they came through the door. He knelt down next to Manny and put his hand on her stomach. "But don't you worry you two; Uncle Marco is going to buy you both something special _before _you're born because I know what to get you now."

"Get up Marco," Manny said, laughing. He stood up and hugged her, then hugged Paige.

"Come on guys; let's go tell everyone we know the good news!" he said excitedly. The four friends went back to their cars. They drove to Emma's house, finding JT there, and told them, Spike, and Snake the news. They stopped by Paige's to tell her mom, and then to Manny's house to tell Jason and Heather. Chris' parents were over there visiting, so he got to tell them too. Around 5:00, Manny, Chris, Paige, and Marco went out to dinner to celebrate. Manny couldn't wait for her babies to be born. She loved them so much already. The only problem was: who is their father?


	19. Not Now!

**Chapter Nineteen: Not Now!**

**A/N: Manny and Paige are now 7 months pregnant.**

"I'm so fat," Paige complained. Manny, Emma, and Paige were all having a sleepover at Manny's.

"Hey, no complaining over there, I'm twice your size," Manny said. "I got two kids in here," she pointed at her stomach.

"You both look great. The prettiest pregnant women I ever saw," Emma complimented them.

"Thanks, that's sweet Em," Paige said. "By the way, where's Chris tonight?"

"He's sleeping over Marco's house tonight. They're going to talk about us," she laughed.

"I told Manny that I think he's trying to plan a baby shower," Emma said. "Normally, there would have been one by now, but these guys are really slow."

"I can't believe that in just 2 months, we are going to be mothers," Paige said. "I mean, really. We will have _children_. This is just so crazy."

"I know what you mean. I can't believe it either. You guys, I'm really scared," Manny told her friends. "Paige, I know that you are going through the same thing, but I'm going to have two babies to take care of. Of course, I have to give birth to them first. I'm just so scared that something might go wrong."

"Maybe you should talk to my mom," Emma suggested. "She'll really understand how you feel. She had me and nothing went wrong."

"Yeah, I think maybe I'll do that tomorrow," Manny told her. "I'm really tired now. It's past 12 and I think we should go to sleep," she said as she walked over to turn off the lights. Manny settled down into her bed and Paige and Emma slept on the pullout couch.

* * *

Over at Marco's house, Chris and Marco were far from planning a baby shower. They were deep in discussion about the babies. 

"This is weird, I don't even like girls and I feel like I'm going to be a father," Marco said.

"That's just because you've been there every step of the way for Paige. I bet Dylan loves you for that," Chris told him.

"Well I hope Dylan loves me whether I support his sister or hate her. I want to spend the rest of my life with him Chris. I really do. It just makes me sad that we probably won't be able to have a real family with kids and everything. It's exciting for me at the same time though. I'm going to be an Uncle. Well, sort of," Marco explained.

"Well, I'm glad that you're so excited. It's nice that you know you're going to be with Dylan forever. I'm not so lucky," Chris said sadly.

"What do you mean? You love Manny. I know you want to be with her for the rest of your life. You've got twins on the way. You should be happy," Marco pointed out.

"Yeah, except for the small reason that those twins might not be mine. Marco, I have to tell you something. I know that I told Manny I wanted to be with her no matter what the outcome, but I don't know if I can do that anymore."

"I understand why you're feeling this way, but hypothetically speaking, you're not the father. Just because some stupid blood test says that you're not, that doesn't mean you aren't. Did you understand what I just said? Because I do."

"Yeah, I get it. If I'm not biologically the father, I've still been there for her every step of the way, and I can help out with the twins. They'll grow up thinking I'm their father, and I will be, in a caring sense," Chris said.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Marco told him.

"Well, I understand that. But if I'm not their father, I don't think I can stay with Manny. I will have to look into those babies' eyes and see their real father. It will be a constant reminder of what those assholes did to her, and how I couldn't do anything about it." He began to cry. Marco leaned over and hugged his best friend. Then he held onto Chris' shoulders and looked right into his eyes.

"Chris, you know that it wasn't your fault. And it wasn't Manny's fault either. If you leave her, it won't do either of you any good. With two children, she'll need you. She can't do it on her own. Besides, there's a chance that you _are_ their father. You need to think this thing through," Marco said, trying to convince him.

"I just don't know what I'm going to do," Chris said sadly.

* * *

"Ah!" Paige screamed out in pain. Manny's eyes flew open. The clock read 2:38 am.

"What's wrong Paige?" Emma asked quietly. She was still half asleep.

"The baby is coming! Now! Ow ow ow owwwww!" she cried. Manny shot up out of bed.

"It can't be coming now! It's too early!" Manny yelled. She was struggling to get out of bed. It was hard since she had gotten so big.

"I'm supposed to be the one saying that! Ah ow! Help me!" Paige screamed louder.

"Okay everyone, stay calm. I know a little bit about this. My mom had Jack right at home. It's going to be okay as long as we don't freak out. I know it is…"

"Emma! You're rambling. Go get Heather or Jason or someone. You can run faster," Manny ordered. She picked up the phone and dialed Marco's cell phone number. "Marco!"

"Wh-what? Manny, is that you? Do you have any idea what time it is?" he asked.

"Yes I do! Paige is having the baby! You have to meet us at the hospital."

"But it's too early! This can't be happening."

"What's going on Marco?" Chris asked sleepily in the background.

"We'll meet you there Manny. Bye." She heard him say as he slammed his phone shut. Just then, Emma came down the stairs, dragging Heather behind her.

"I called the hospital to let them know we're on our way. They know that it's early too," Heather explained to Paige. "We need to leave now."

Paige got out of bed and made her way to the stairs. Halfway there, she fell to the floor, screaming in pain. Emma and Manny helped her up and together they carried her up the stairs. It only took about ten minutes to get to the hospital. Dr. Murray was waiting for Paige in one of the birthing rooms.

"Okay Paige, how far apart are your contractions?" the doctor asked.

"About fifteen minutes," she answered.

"Well that's good then. You're in premature labor, but I'm afraid that the baby might not survive if you give birth right now. I'm going to try to give you some mediation to stop the labor. If that doesn't work, we'll just have to be ready for it," Dr. Murray explained.

"Please stop it," she said, crying. "I don't want my baby to die."

"I'll do whatever I can," she reassured Paige. Dr. Murray hooked her up to some machines. There was one monitoring the baby's vitals, another one was showing the contractions, and the third was monitoring Paige's heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure. She put an IV into Paige's arm and all they could do was wait.

A few hours later, after speaking with Paige, Dr. Murray went out into the waiting room to talk to Manny, Heather, Marco, and Emma. Chris hadn't showed up. Marco explained that he was exhausted and would be there if they called him and really needed him.

"The medicine seems to be working, and the labor has stopped for now. We're just going to keep Paige here overnight to make sure it doesn't start up again. You should all go home and get some rest. Paige has requested that at least one person stay with her," she explained.

"Marco, I know you'll want to stay, but do you think I can?" Manny asked him. "I'm just afraid that something might happen to the babies, and I'd feel better if I was at the hospital."

"Yeah, that's fine," he told her. "I'm just gonna go say goodbye to her." He walked off to talk to Paige.

"Emma, you're welcome to stay in Manny's room if you want, or I can take you home," Heather offered.

"I think I'll just go home if that's okay," Emma replied.

"We'll see you later Manny. Are you sure you want to stay?" Heather asked.

"I'm positive."

"Okay, well call me tomorrow when you two are ready to come home," she said. Emma gave Manny a hug and they left. A minute later, Marco came down the hall. He too hugged Manny and headed home. Manny went down to Paige's room.

"Feeling better?" she asked her.

"Yeah I am, but I'm really scared Manny."

"I know you are. I am too," she told Paige. "But I have a feeling that everything's gonna be okay. We should both get some sleep."

"Thanks Manny. Goodnight." As soon as Paige rolled over, she was fast asleep. She had been through a lot. Manny looked at her watch. It was 5:30. She lay down on a chair that converted into a bed. At first, she couldn't fall asleep. She was afraid that she'd go into labor early, and she was thinking about Chris.

* * *

Manny felt some pressure on her mouth, but she didn't open her eyes. Instead, she rolled over and buried her head under the pillow. She knew it was probably around noon, because the sun was making her face hot. She then felt someone lean over her and kiss her again. This made her open her eyes. 

"What are you doing here?" she asked, sitting up.

"I came to pick you two up. Paige called me over an hour ago. We were going to wait until you woke up since you look so cute while you're sleeping, but, I couldn't wait that long," Chris replied.

"Well, let me wash my face and I'll be ready to go," Manny told him.

"I brought you some clothes," Chris said as he handed her a bag.

"Thanks, I'll go change." She went over to the bathroom and decided to take a quick shower before leaving. Fifteen minutes later, Chris pulled back the shower curtain. "Chris!" she yelled.

"What! It's not like I haven't been in the shower with you before."

"I'm fat. Now go away. I'll be out in a minute!"

"Fine!" he grumbled as he walked away. A few minutes later, Manny emerged from the bathroom, showered and hair done.

"I just have to put some makeup on..."

"No you don't. We're just going home! You're beautiful without it anyway," Chris told her.

"Aww that's so sweet, but I think you're just in a hurry. I'll put my makeup on in the car," Manny said, laughing. "Paige, do you want to come over for awhile?" she asked her.

"Sure. I think we should look at baby names online. I haven't come up with one," Paige answered.

"Yeah, we haven't thought of names yet either," Manny pointed out to Chris.

"I know, I know. Let's go, maybe we can do that today." When Chris was done complaining, the three of them left the hospital (well, they were really in a part separate from the hospital, called the Family Birthing Center) and headed over to Manny's house.

* * *

"Surprise!" everyone yelled when Manny and Paige came into the house. There were balloons and streamers everywhere. 

"What's all this for?" Manny asked.

"We decided to throw a baby shower for both of you," Spike told her.

"Why are all these guys here then?" Paige asked.

"We wanted to be a part of it too," Jason said.

"That's so sweet. Thanks guys," Manny said. All of her friends were there, and their parents were too. None of Paige's friends were there except for Marco. The rest of them stopped hanging out with her since she had gotten pregnant. Her mom and Dylan were there too though.

"Oh Marco, I'm so glad you're here!" Paige squealed as she ran over to hug him.

Just then, Manny noticed someone else who had come to the baby shower. He walked up to her even though she wasn't acting very friendly towards him.

"Manny, I know that you probably don't want me here, and I know that all this crazy stuff is happening between you and Craig, but I still wanted to come. I hope that's okay with you. I'll leave if you want," he explained.

"No, that's okay. You can stay Joey," Manny told him and hugged him.

"Here's a present from us," Caitlin said as she walked up behind Joey.

"Thanks," she said, taking the box out of her hands.

"Before I forget, Mr. Radditch sent presents over for you both. He said he's sorry that he couldn't make it," Snake said, handing the presents to Paige and Manny.

"Why don't you two open your presents now?" Heather suggested.

"Okay!" the girls said in unison.

Everyone got Manny and Paige the same presents, but Manny got two of everything since she was having twins. Emma's family, JT, Mr. Radditch, Toby, and Liberty all got them clothes. Paige got blue, pink, green, and yellow clothes since no one knew if the baby was a boy or a girl. Manny got dresses for the girl that matched outfits for the boy. Joey and Caitlin got blankets and toys for both girls. Paige's mom and Dylan also got clothes for Manny, but got a stroller for Paige. Heather, Jason, and Chris got clothes for Paige. Chris got two giant stuffed panda bears for the twins (they were Manny's favorite animal).

"We have a surprise for you Manny," Jason told her once all the presents were opened. Heather made her close her eyes and she, Jason, and Chris led her down to her room. When she finally opened her eyes, she gasped.

"Aw I love it. Thanks so much," she said, giving them all hugs. They had moved her TV and couch across from her bed, and the other half of the room had been converted into a nursery for the babies. There were two cribs that used to be Anthony and Caleb's. A brand new changing table was in-between the cribs. There were packages of diapers and wipes on the shelves underneath the changing table. Two rocking chairs were next to the cribs, one for Chris and one for Manny. Since Manny hadn't been using the built-in drawers on the wall, Jason and Heather bought a few outfits and put them in it. Two drawers were for the boy and two for the girl. There were two bassinets next to Manny and Chris's bed.

"Those are for the first few weeks after the hospital," Jason said, pointing to the basinets.

"Yeah, and they vibrate, play music, you can record your voice into it, and they convert into rocking bassinets with adjustable canopies," Heather explained. Manny walked over to the cribs and they had Suzy's Zoo bedding in them.

"I bought the bedding because I knew it was your favorite," Chris told her.

"How did you afford this?" Manny asked him.

"Well, Marco helped me get a job at The Dot last night. Jason loaned me the money and I'm paying him back with my first check," he said. "There's one more thing we have to show you." He walked over to the door that led into the storage room and opened it.

Manny saw that the room had been cleaned out. There were two baby swings in it, a foldable playpen, and many more bags of diapers. A box in the corner had a bunch of brand new bottles, pacifiers, and bibs in it. Off to the side were three strollers, two of them were the kind of strollers that had the baby car seats that detached to put in the car. The third one was a double stroller for when the babies got older.

"We figured that we'd put this stuff in here. You can take the swings and playpen out when you use them. We didn't want the room to get too crowded," Jason explained.

"Thank you so much. This is the best present I could have ever gotten. I love all of you guys so much," Manny said. Once again, she gave them all hugs and kissed Chris on the lips. They all went back upstairs to the baby shower. Jayden, Anthony, Caleb, and Quinn were all taking naps, and woke up around the same time. They came downstairs (Heather went and got Quinn) to join in the fun. Everyone played various games and had a huge pot-luck dinner. Before everyone left, Manny and Paige thanked them all for coming and for the presents.

"Thank you everyone for all the presents and this amazing baby shower. This is the best day I've had in a really long time," Manny said and began to cry.

"I'd also like to thank you all. I know that some of you aren't even my friends so this means a lot to me," Paige said, also crying.

Around 10pm, everyone went home. Paige and Manny were outside. "We never got to look at baby names," she said, laughing.

"I think I'm going to wait until the twins are born. When I first look at them, whatever names come in mind, I'm going to give them. Chris and I agreed that I could pick the first names and he'd pick the middle names," Manny told her.

"Yeah, I'll probably wait until he or she is born," Paige said.

"Oh great, we have school tomorrow," Manny pointed out.

"Do you realize that we have only a month left?" Paige asked. "I'm going to be pregnant at my graduation."

"And I'll be a senior next year with two kids," Manny said. "It's crazy isn't it?"

"Paige, honey, time to leave now," her mom called.

"Well, I guess I'll see you at lunch tomorrow," Manny said.

"Bye," Paige replied, heading over to the car. Manny was exhausted, and went straight to bed, where Chris was already asleep.


	20. Finally!

**Chapter Twenty: Finally! **

"Chris! Wake up!" Manny said, shaking her boyfriend.

"Wh-what?" he asked sleepily.

"My water just broke," she said calmly.

"That's great Manny, but I'm tired." He rolled over and closed his eyes.

"The babies are coming now!" she yelled in his ear. He jumped up and was instantly awake.

"Let's go! We have to go to the Birthing Center!" he screamed at her.

"Listen to me. If you panic, everything will go wrong. You are going to go upstairs and wake up Heather and Jason. I am going to get my bag and go sit in the car, and I will call Dr. Murray and tell her I'm on my way," she explained.

"Ok, got it." Chris said and headed over to the stairs.

"You might want to put some pants on first," Manny pointed out, laughing.

"Pants, right." He put his jeans on and ran up the stairs.

"I guess I should have asked him to help me up first," Manny mumbled to herself. She was struggling to get up. After a couple of minutes, she made it and walked up the stairs. Her bag for the hospital was in the closet by the front door. She grabbed that, put a jacket on, and got into Chris' car. About five minutes later, Heather and Chris came out of the house. Heather rode with them to the hospital.

"Jason's going to wait until the kids wake up, get them all dressed, then go to the Birthing Center so they can be there when the babies are born," she explained to Manny.

"I forgot to call Dr. Murray!" Manny said suddenly.

"Already did it," Heather said.

"Thanks."

"We're here!" Chris yelled a little too loudly. Manny jumped and then screamed, clutching her stomach.

"The first contraction is the worst one. Now you'll know what to expect," Heather told her. She helped Manny out of the car. "Chris, can you go get a wheelchair for her?" Without answering, he hurried inside and brought a wheelchair back out. Manny got into it and Chris wheeled her inside. They took the elevator to the second floor and went into the waiting room.

"Paige! What are you doing here?" Manny asked when she saw her.

"My water broke! I'm having the baby!" Paige screamed, having a contraction.

"So am I! I can't believe this. Hi Marco," she said, as if noticing him for the first time. "Where's your mom?"

"She had to go back home to get my bag. We kinda forgot it," Paige said. "Where's the doctor?" she asked Marco.

"I just talked to her, she's almost here, don't worry," he answered.

"I'm right here, and I can see I'll be busy tonight," Dr. Murray said smiling. "Three babies to deliver. This should be interesting. Follow me, and I'll put you two in rooms next to each other." She walked through the glass doors, and everyone followed.

"Dr. Murray! Don't forget which room I need to be in!" Manny yelled.

"I haven't forgotten. Are you sure that's what you want to do?" she asked.

"I'm sure." Manny replied.

"Okay, this is your room Manny, and Paige, this one is yours," she said, pointing to each room. "You two can visit with each other for a little while, until Manny is ready for the water," she said, and walked away to talk get a few nurses. Chris and Marco brought Manny and Paige into Manny's room. Heather brought her bag in and sat it down on a chair. Manny lay down in her bed, and Marco fixed the chair that converted into a bed so Paige could lie down too.

"Manny, what was Dr. Murray talking…Ahhhh contraction!" Paige yelled. When it was over, she finished her sentence, "talking about?"

"I decided to have a water birth," Manny told her.

"What? Why?" Paige asked.

"The next room over has a Jacuzzi in it. I'll sit in that and relax until it's time for the babies to come. They'll turn off the jets and I'll have them. It's more comfortable, reduces pressure, gives me less pain, and gives the babies more oxygen," she explained.

"Um, what if they breathe in before they get out of the water?" Marco asked.

"They won't. When the babies are in the womb, they are already in water. So, when they are coming from water, into water. They won't take a breath until they are above the surface." When she finished telling Marco, she had another contraction and grabbed Chris' hand.

"Ow! Don't break my hand Manny!" he yelled.

"Sorry."

"Ok ladies, I need to change into these gowns and then I'll check to see how far along you are," Dr. Murray said, handing them hospital gowns. They both changed and then the doctor returned. She checked Manny first. "You are only two centimeters dilated. In a minute you can go get in the tub. Paige was next. "And only three for you," she told her.

For the next three hours, the girls walked around the Birthing Center. They saw a few babies in the nursery, but most of them were in the rooms with their mothers. Around five a.m., they heard a song play over the intercom.

"That means that a baby was just born," Manny told Paige.

"Aw, that's so cute!" she said. Heather went to Manny's room to call Jason and see if he would be there soon. Dr. Murray approached the girls in the hallway.

"Why don't you two go back to Manny's room and I'll check you again," she said. They both returned to where they were laying before, but Dr. Murray became busy with another patient. She didn't return to the room until two hours later. Dr. Murray checked them for the third time since they had gotten there. "Manny, you're five centimeters."

"Only five! But we've been here five hours and I'm only halfway through!" she complained.

"Labor tends to take awhile," Dr. Murray told her. "The good news is that you can get into the tub now. It will make everything easier for you." Manny changed into the top part of her bikini and wrapped a towel around her waist. She didn't put any bottoms on since she would be having the baby in the water. Chris went with her into the spa room but Heather went to the waiting room. She had just gotten a call from Jason that they were there.

"Well, Paige, you should go back to your room now," Dr. Murray told her. "You're already nine centimeters."

"I am?" she asked, both excited and scared at the same time. "Can I at least have my epidural when I get there?"

"I'm afraid it's too late for that," Dr. Murray told her.

"What?" Paige yelled. She had another contraction then, and Marco wheeled her into her own room, where her mother was asleep in a chair. "Mom! Wake up! I'm having the baby really soon!" she yelled. Her mother jumped awake and prepared to help in any way she could. However, Paige waited longer than she thought she would have to.

"How long can one centimeter take?" she complained. "It's been an hour already! I got here at two in the morning and now it's eight!"

"You know Paige, your labor is going very quickly since it's your first one. Some can last up to three or four days. You've only been here six hours," Dr. Murray told her.

"Well, then I guess I should be grateful. But, I'm getting really impatient. Can you check again?" she asked.

"Give me a few minutes. I'm going to check on Manny and then I'll be right back," Dr. Murray told her, leaving the room.

"Great. Five minutes with doctors usually turns into hours," Paige said, rolling her eyes.

* * *

In the spa room, Manny was asleep. Chris had been sitting in a chair next to her the entire time. Heather and Jason were taking turns going in to see how she was doing. Manny felt much better as soon as she got into the water. She had fallen asleep only ten minutes later. 

"How's she doing?" Dr. Murray asked Chris.

"Good I guess. She really relaxed as soon as she got in, and she's been sleeping for awhile now," he told her.

"Well, I'm afraid I have to wake her up so I can see how far she's come in the past hour," she said. "Manny, wake up, I have to check you now," she whispered.

"What?" Manny said, opening her eyes. She yawned and stretched.

"How are you feeling?" the doctor asked.

"So much better," she answered. "Paige definitely should have done this."

"I'm going to check you now and see how dilated you are," she informed Manny.

"Okay," Manny said, and relaxed.

"I've got some good news. Your labor is progressing much faster now."

"How many centimeters?" Chris asked.

"You are ready to have these babies. You're ten centimeters dilated. They must really want to get out," Dr. Murray said.

"Really? This is so exciting!" Manny squealed. "Chris! We're going to have kids soon!" Chris smiled and grabbed her hand.

"I love you Manny," he said, but on the inside, he was praying that the twins would be his.

"I love you too," she said back, and kissed him on the lips.

"I'll be right back, don't start without me," Dr. Murray joked. She left the room for a few minutes and came back with a nurse who was wheeling two little beds in for the babies. When everything was all set up, the doctor went over to the side of the Jacuzzi and turned off the water jets. Chris knelt down on the other side. "Okay Manny, when you feel a contraction coming, I want you to bear down and push as hard as you can, just like you learned in Lamaze Class," she instructed.

"Well, that's happening right about now…" she said and started to push. Chris began to count for her.

"One, two, three, four…"

"Ahhh!" Manny screamed over his voice.

"Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten." She stopped pushing on ten. The same process was repeated three more times. By then Manny was crying and already exhausted.

"Manny I want you to reach down. Feel that?" Dr. Murray asked.

"Yes…"

"That's your baby's head," she told her. "Now, I want you to push again, but this time, give me a smaller one. I'll help guide the baby's head out." Manny pushed as soon as the next contraction came. "Okay Manny, one more, and the baby will be out. This one has to be small too." With one more push, the baby was delivered and pulled out of the water by Dr. Murray. "It's a girl!" she announced. She let the baby float on the water's surface while Chris cut the umbilical cord. "You can hold her for a minute, but then you need to get the next one out." Dr. Murray placed Manny's daughter on her chest.

"She's so tiny and so beautiful," Manny said, crying. "Oh honey, mommy loves you so much," she told her baby. She had stopped crying the minute Manny held her. Chris got one look at her and began to cry as well.

"Chris, you can hand her to the nurse, we've got another one coming," Dr. Murray instructed. Slowly, Chris picked her up and placed her in the nurse's arms. She was brought over to the side, weighed, and measured. "Okay now Manny, same thing as before," Dr. Murray told her.

Once again, Manny pushed, and the second baby came out faster than the first. "It's a boy!" Dr. Murray announced, as he was pulled out of the water. Chris cut the cord again, and the baby was handed over to Manny. There were more tears, and after a few minutes, he was taken to be measured as well.

"Your daughter was born at 8:20 a.m. She weighs five pounds, five ounces, and is eighteen inches long. Your son was born at 8:22 a.m., weighs five pounds, five ounces, and is also eighteen inches," the nurse told Manny. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you so much!" Manny said, in tears. Chris was still crying too. He was standing over their beds.

"They're beautiful Manny," he whispered.

"Let's get you out of there and dried off. You need to rest now," Dr. Murray told her. "You can go to sleep as soon as you deliver the placentas." Chris helped Manny out of the tub and she dried herself off. She leaned on his shoulder and he led her back to her room, where she changed into a hospital gown. She then lay down on her bed, exhausted.

Ten minutes later, after she delivered the placentas, Manny was holding both of her babies, one in each arm. Chris was able to go outside the room and push the button that played the song that a baby was born. He pushed it twice, and then went out to the waiting room to announce the news. He found everyone who attended the baby shower sitting and waiting, even Joey and Caitlin.

"Manny just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and a baby boy. They are both completely healthy," he announced. Everyone cheered. "Paige will deliver soon. Anyone who would like to see the babies can go, but you have to go about three at a time. The only exception is that the Daniels' can all go in right now," he explained. He led them all down to the room. Jason and Heather held the babies, and the boys got to hold them with help.

"What are their names?" Jason asked.

"Well, Manny picked out the first names, and I chose the middle names. It was really easy," Chris said.

"And…?" Heather asked.

"Meet Lily Adila and Lucas Wade," Manny proudly announced.

"Those names are perfect," Jason said, and Heather agreed. They stayed for a few more minutes, and more and more people came to see the twins in small groups. It was nine fifteen a.m. when everyone had seen them and the Daniels all came back in to stay for awhile. A little less than ten minutes later, they could all hear crying from the next room, and then the song played over the intercom. Paige's baby had just been born.

"It's a girl!" they heard Dr. Murray yell. She was born at 9:22 a.m., exactly one hour after Lucas. When Paige was finished with all of her labor and the baby was measured, Marco pushed her over to Manny's room in her wheelchair, and she was holding her daughter.

"Everyone, meet Avery Grace," she said proudly.

"Paige, she's beautiful," Manny told her.

"Thanks. And I'm so happy that she doesn't look like her father at all," she said.

"This is Lucas Wade and Lily Adila," Manny said, introducing Paige to the twins. They were fast asleep. Paige and Manny were both very tired, and only visited for a few minutes. Manny fell asleep about ten minutes after Paige went back to her room. Everyone went in shifts to see Avery, and then all went home except for Chris, Marco, and Dylan.


	21. The Question Will Be Answered

**Chapter Twenty-One: The Question Will Be Answered**

Manny woke up around five o'clock, hungry for dinner. A nurse brought food up from the hospital's cafeteria for her and Chris. Once they were finished eating, Manny was eager to give the twins their first baths. There was a special sink in the room for that purpose.

"I just have to stay here and watch if you don't need my help," their nurse, Rebecca, said.

"Okay," Manny said. Lily was the first to get a bath. Chris was helping Manny, but he mostly took photos to put in Lily's baby book. He had also bought baby books for the twins but was going to surprise Manny with them when they got home from the hospital. Lucas was next, and once again, Chris took a lot of photos. He had not videotaped the twins' birth because both he and Manny agreed that it was something special that they wanted to share between themselves.

Lucas and Lily both loved the water and cried when they were taken out. Manny lay back in her bed and fed them both. She'd decided to breast feed because it was a good way to build up the babies' immune systems. It was also a way for her to get extra bonding time with her children.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on Manny's door. Chris got up to answer it, and it was Paige and Marco with Avery. They came in and sat down to visit. Manny and Chris took turns holding Avery, while Marco and Paige took turns with Lucas and Lily.

"They're all going to be best friends," Paige said.

"Yeah, and Avery and Lucas will probably end up getting married," Marco joked.

"No, neither of them is ever going to date," Chris said.

"I can't believe we had them on the same day," Manny remarked.

"I can't believe that I got here before you and you had them before I had Avery!" Paige said.

"It was crazy. I was five centimeters so I went into the tub, then the doctor comes in an hour later and tells me that I'm ready to have them," Manny told her. "I was so scared and so excited at the same time."

"Well, when I went back to my room, I only had one centimeter left. Dr. Murray went to check you and didn't come back for an hour. She told me you had the babies and they were healthy, and then checked me. She said I was ready to have the baby (I waited two hours for a stupid centimeter!) and it took almost a half hour of pushing," Paige explained.

"It took me twenty minutes pushing for Lily, but then Lucas was ready to get out of there and be with his sister, and was born two minutes later. That was a blessing," Manny said, laughing. At this time, there was yet another knock on the door. This time, Marco answered it.

"Someone's here about the twins…" he trailed off, a little confused.

"Manny, this is the DNA technician I was telling you about," Rebecca said.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Landry," he said, extending his hand. Manny shook it and gulped. She wanted to know more than ever who her babies' father was, but she was scared that it wouldn't be Chris. "Now, all I need to do is use a cotton swab to take some DNA from the inside of your cheek, Chris', and one from each of the twins. Samples have already been taken from Mr. Oleander and Mr. Manning," he explained.

"Well then, let's do it," Chris said. "When will we know the results?"

"It takes a week so you'll get them next Saturday," Dr. Landry said. He took out a cotton swab and wiped it along the inside of Manny's cheek, put it into a test tube, and placed a stopper on it. He labeled the tube 'Manuela Santos.' He repeated the process for Chris, Lucas, and Lily. "Thank you for your time," he said. "I'll get these results back as fast as I can." And he left the room. Everyone was silent for a few minutes. The babies were all asleep in their beds, and Lily woke up and broke the silence.

"She's probably hungry again," Manny said. "Can you hand her to me?" she asked Chris. He walked over to her bed and picked her up, staring at her lovingly.

"I love you honey," he whispered before handing her over. Manny started to pull down her hospital gown to feed her daughter and Paige, Marco, and Chris all looked away.

"It's okay guys, I'm not embarrassed to feed my child. You don't have to look away," she said, laughing. The whole time she fed Lily, she was looking down at her face. "She has your eyes Chris," she whispered to him. Chris didn't say 'really?' and he didn't walk over to look, instead, he started yelling.

"She doesn't have my eyes Manny! They aren't even my kids!" he yelled. Without looking back, he grabbed his coat and left the room, slamming the door behind him. Marco jumped up and ran after him. He caught up to him in the waiting room, which was empty.

"What is wrong with you Chris?" he yelled at him. "Why would you say something like that?"

"I can't do this anymore Marco, I can't!" He didn't even wait for Marco to try and convince him. He couldn't even wait for the elevator to come up. He threw open the door and ran down the stairs, kept running to his car, and drove off. No one knew where he was going.

Marco slowly walked back to Manny's room. Lily, Lucas, and Avery were crying hysterically, scared by the door that Chris had slammed. Manny was crying too, and Paige was trying to comfort her. The babies stopped crying a few minutes later, but Manny didn't. When she finally did stop, almost an hour later, she became angry.

"If he's going to act like that, then I'm not going to let him come back!" she yelled to Paige.

"Manny, calm down. Don't upset the babies," Paige said.

"He's just confused," Marco said.

"Please don't defend him Marco. I know he's your best friend, but you wouldn't do anything like that and you know it. He reminds me of my parents, abandoning their child, only he just abandoned two."

"He'll be back soon hon, don't worry," Paige said, rubbing her back. She was sitting next to Manny on her bed.

"You know what? I don't even care. My babies are all I need right now," she said, kissing the tops of both of their heads. Just then, there was another knock at her door. "I'm so sick of all these people knocking on the door. Why can't they just leave me alone?" Manny complained.

"I'll get it," Marco offered. He opened the door and was surprised at who it was.

"Marco. What are you doing here?" the person asked.

"I think the more appropriate question is: Why are _you_ here?" he said. He stepped aside and Paige and Manny could see who it was. Paige scowled at her.

"What do you want Hazel?" She was really mad.

"Can we talk in private?" Hazel asked her.

"Whatever you want to say to me, you can say in front of my _real_ friends," she said and made a face.

"Fine, I will. Can I sit down?" she asked Manny.

"I don't care," she answered. And she really didn't. Hazel had abandoned her best friend, and that made Manny mad, but she hadn't really done anything to hurt Manny personally. She was also still upset about Chris.

"I came to apologize to you," Hazel said after she sat down in the chair across from where Paige was on the bed. "I don't know why I got so mad, I just…"

"It's a little late for that," Paige said, annoyed. "It's been nine months Hazel. What? Did you decide to come here and say sorry just so you could see the baby?" she asked, turning Avery away from her defensively.

"No Paige, that's not why I came; I feel really bad, and I haveever since that day. I don't know what came over me, but I'm really sorry. We missed a lot of time that we should have spent together."

"But we didn't, because of you. Hazel, I can forgive you, and I do. But I won't be able to forget that you weren't there for me when I needed you the most. Marco and Manny were the only ones. Actually, Emma and JT were too."

"I'm just glad you can forgive me Paige," Hazel said.

"Well, you better just hold her and get it over with. Things are not going to be the same with us as they were before. It doesn't matter anyway, because you, as well as the rest of the people in our class will be going to college. I now have a daughter to raise, and if you must know, I'm staying out of school for a year to take care of her. Then, Manny and I are going to college. Together," she finished. She handed Avery over to her. Hazel was shocked, and didn't know what to say to Paige. She looked down at the baby instead.

"Oh Paige, she's so beautiful. She looks just like you. What's her name?" Hazel asked.

"Thanks, I know. Her name is Avery Grace." Paige said. Avery started to cry, and Paige got up and took her from Hazel. "She's hungry. I'm gonna go back to my room now. I'm really tired. I'm gonnafeed her and then go to sleep." Marco and Paige went to her room without saying goodbye.

"That was really uncomfortable," Hazel commented to Manny.

"You really hurt her. She didn't have anyone. You have to give it more time," Manny said. "Do you want to meet the twins?" she asked.

"Of course," Hazel said. Manny told her their names, and let her hold them both. Ten minutes later, she left, and Manny found herself completely alone. She left her room and walked next-door to Paige's. Paige and Marco were fast asleep with Avery between them. She quietly walked over and picked Avery up, setting her down in her own bed.

"It's too bad you're gay Marco," Manny whispered, smiling. "I think Paige is starting to love you." She returned to her room a few minutes later and looked at the clock. It was after nine. She sat up in her bed and dialed the telephone next to it. "Emma?" she said, crying. "Can you come to the Birthing Center? I need you here." Lily and Lucas were a little over twelve hours old and they had already been abandoned by one of the people that was supposed to be there for them every step of the way.


	22. At Last

**Chapter Twenty-Two: At Last**

**A/N: The babies were all born on July 15.**

Manny, Lucas, Lily, Avery, and Paige went home on July 18 (three days after the babies were born). Marco and Emma stayed the entire time with them. Manny was happy to leave, but when she brought the twins downstairs to their new home, she was hit hard by realization. Chris was gone, and so were his clothes. It looked as if he had never lived there. Lily and Lucas were sleeping, so Manny put them in their bassinets. She flopped down onto her bed as Paige was walking down the stairs. She almost forgot that Marco was dropping her off. Her mom was at work and she didn't want to go home to an empty house. Heather and Jason were also at work, and all the kids were at daycare. Spike had picked Manny and Emma up and dropped Manny off at home. Paige sat down next to Manny on her bed and put Avery's car seat next to her. She was sleeping too.

"What am I going to do Paige?" Manny sighed. She was trying not to cry.

"Chris is such a jerk. You're better off without him, trust me," Paige replied, trying to reassure her.

"I know it's just that…" she trailed off. "I love him. I just don't know why he would do this to me. He told me that he'd be there for me and the babies, no matter what. Now that he's having doubts that he's not their father, he just leaves, before finding out the truth," she said in tears.

"It's all going to be okay, I promise," Paige said, rubbing her back. "I don't know about you, but I think we should get some rest while the babies are still sleeping," she pointed out.

"Yeah, we probably should. You can put Avery in Lily's crib," Manny offered.

"Well, I don't want to use it when Lily hasn't slept in it yet. She'll be fine in her car seat. I don't want to wake her up by moving her anyway. Sweet dreams."

"Yeah, I'm exhausted…" Manny began to say, but the minute her head hit the pillow, she fell fast asleep.

* * *

"Manny wake up!" A voice yelled in her ear. She opened her eyes a little. 

"What is it Jayden?" she asked him. "I'm tired," she groaned.

"The baby's crying," he answered, pointing to a bassinet.

"Oh great, I'm a bad mother already." Manny was so used to Quinn's crying, that her own children didn't even wake her up. She sat up and noticed that Paige was gone. There was a note on the pillow where she had been sleeping.

_Avery woke me up around 3 and then my mom called because she was home. She's coming to pick me up and I don't want to wake you up because you're so tired. I'll see you later. Paige_

Manny finished reading the note and looked at the clock. It was 6:45. "I was sleeping for a long time huh?" she asked Jayden.

"Yup. Lucas was crying before but mommy brought him upstairs. I think she gave him a bottle," he explained. Manny was about to ask how she fed him, but remembered she had pumped breast milk into a few bottles and left them in the refrigerator.

"I'm gonna feed Lily and then I'll come upstairs and maybe you can hold the twins," she suggested.

"Okay but I have to tell you that it's Anthony's birthday party tomorrow," he said as he was running up the stairs.

"Great, I don't even have a present for him," Manny said to no one in particular. She hurried over to Lily and picked her up. "It's okay honey," she whispered to her. She sat back down on her bed and fed her. When Lily was finished eating, Manny brought her upstairs to find everyone sitting in the living room watching television.

"There's some pizza in the oven," Heather told her. "I'm guessing you're hungry. I can take her if you want." Manny handed Lily over and noticed that Jason was holding Lucas. She went into the kitchen, got two slices of pizza, and went back to the living room.

"What are you watching?" she asked.

"Sesame Street!" Caleb yelled.

"Cool," Manny said to him. She was already on her second piece of pizza. "I guess I really am hungry."

"Well, you haven't eaten since this morning at the hospital," Jason pointed out.

"Yeah, I didn't realize that," Manny said.

"Can we hold the babies now?" Jayden asked excitedly.

"Let me finish my pizza first okay?"

"Okay," he agreed.

Manny quickly finished her last piece of pizza because she knew that the boys were anxious. She told all of them before the twins were born that they were going to be uncles.

"Can Quinn hold them too?" Caleb asked.

"No honey, she's not old enough," Manny told him.

"But she's one years old! That's old!" Jayden argued.

"When she's a little bit older then she can hold them okay sweetie," Heather told him. Jayden held Lily first, while Caleb held Lucas. Then they switched babies, and finally, Manny helped Anthony hold them one at a time.

"Okay guys, I have to go to my room now. Lily and Lucas are getting tired."

"That's boring!" Caleb said.

"I'm sorry, but they're little and they need lots of sleep. Don't worry; you'll get to see them tomorrow. And the next day, and the next one for a long time. Probably forever," Manny muttered the last part under her breath.

"Here, I'll give you a hand," Jason told her and picked Lily up. Manny scooped up Lucas and said goodnight to all the kids since they'd be going to bed in a little while. Jason followed her down to her room and put Lily in her bassinet, and rocked her for a minute. Before Manny could say anything, he decided to. "You know you're going to be okay, right?" he asked her.

"I just don't know what to do," she said. A single tear rolled down her cheek, but she kept herself from crying anymore.

"If Chris chose to leave you, then you'll be fine without him. You don't need him at all. We will help you with everything we can. You have Spike, Snake, and Emma too. Even Joey and Caitlin offered to watch the twins," he explained.

"I don't want my children anywhere near Craig. If they really want to watch them, they can come here and do it. Otherwise, they won't be able to see the twins at all," Manny said angrily. She put Lucas down in his bassinet and pushed it over near Lily's so he could be closer to her. It made them both stop crying every time.

"Well, just to let you know, when you go back to school, Spike has offered to watch the twins everyday for free. Now that Jack is three, he will be going to preschool all day long, and she said it will give her something to do," he told her.

"That's great. At least I won't have to worry about paying for daycare. But, it still doesn't make me feel any better about Chris. What if he is their father? He left them, and I don't even know if he'll come back. If he does come back, I'm not sure I even want him to be in my life because of the way he acted. If he's not their father, I don't know what I'll do. I can't even think about Craig or Mr. Oleander…" she couldn't finish the sentence. "Especially if it's Craig. I'd have to let him see them sooner or later because no one believed me about what he did."

"We all believe you Manny," Jason reassured her.

"I want you to know that means so much to me, but it didn't matter anyway. He got off because he lied." Jason leaned over and gave Manny a hug. "Thanks for everything, but I need to be alone for a little while."

"You know where we are if you need any help," he told her and made his way upstairs. As soon as he was gone, Manny sat down on her bed and picked up the phone. She dialed the number she had almost forgotten; she hadn't called it in a long time.

"Hello?" she picked up on the third ring.

"Hi Mrs. Hawkins, it's me, Manny," she said, holding back even more tears.

"Hello Manny. How are the babies doing? And how's Chris?" she asked.

"Oh, um…he's actually the reason I called…"

"What do you mean? Is anything wrong?" Mrs. Hawkins asked, a little frantically.

"Well, you see…I don't know how to say this. Chris left me the day the twins were born. It was after everyone went home. He was upset about the twins and didn't know what to do I guess, and we don't know where he went," she burst out, unable to hold back the tears any longer.

"Honey, I'm so sorry. He didn't come here. Maybe he's at Marco's house."

"I don't think he is because Marco was at the hospital the whole time with Paige," Manny told her.

"I don't think he has enough money to go to the States to visit family. Do you want me to give you the number to his Uncle's house just in case?" Mrs. Hawkins offered.

"Sure, that would be great," Manny said in between sobs. Chris' mom gave her the number and Manny thanked her. She hung up the phone and cried. At the same time, Lucas and Lily both started to cry, as if they sensed their mother's pain. She laid them both on her bed and changed their diapers, then put them into their pajamas. "I love you both, you know that right? You're daddy loves you too; he just doesn't know what to do right now. I'm trying to get him back for you, don't worry," she told them. Lucas began to cry, so Manny picked him up and fed him. He fell asleep while she was holding him, so she placed him back in his bassinet. She picked Lily up and fed her too, then sat in the rocking chair and rocked her to sleep. She put her in her bassinet as well, and lay down on her own bed. She was falling asleep when she heard a knock on the door at the top of the stairs.

"Come in," she said miserably. She saw who it was and cheered up a little. "Hey Emma."

"Hi Manny. I thought I'd come see how you were doing with these two. Looks like you're having no trouble at all," Emma said.

"It's not that easy, but with everyone's help I think I can do it," she stated proudly. "Tell your mom I'm so grateful that she's willing to watch the twins when we go back to school."

"She'll have fun with them. She said that Jack grew up too fast or something," Emma told her.

"Hey Em, do you want to stay here tonight? I just need something to take my mind off of Chris and this DNA crap."

"Sure. I'll just call my mom and have her bring over a bag of stuff for me."

* * *

When Emma and Manny finally went to bed it was 1:30 am. Just a half hour later, Lily and Lucas both woke up crying. It was Manny's first night home with the twins and it was a little overwhelming for her. She was glad that she actually heard them crying and woke up, but it didn't bother Emma at all. She never even woke up. Manny changed them both again and rocked them back to sleep at the same time. She hadn't realized how many diapers they'd go through, and realized that she'd have to get a job of her own, especially if Chris never came back. It took a little over an hour for the babies to finally fall asleep, and Manny was exhausted. She knew it would be tiring, but waiting for the DNA results, and Chris leaving added to all that, it was horrible. Manny knew the next four days would be the worst, but she would finally be able to rest when she found out who the father of her twins were.

* * *

The waiting was finally over. It was the day that Manny had been waiting for ever since she found out she was pregnant. The results were being sent by messenger, straight from the hospital lab. Manny didn't know when they would be coming, and was getting anxious. Emma, Spike, Snake, Jack, JT, Paige, Marco, and Avery all came over to find out the news. They all waited in the living room (including Jason, Heather, Lily, and Lucas) in silence. Manny couldn't bring herself to say anything; she just wanted to wait. 

By 12:30 in the afternoon, the results weren't there yet. Jason ordered a few pizzas for everyone to eat, but Manny couldn't eat anything. About an hour after everyone finished their pizza (it was almost 2 pm) the doorbell rang. Manny jumped up and rushed to the door, throwing it open.

"I'm looking for Manuela Santos," the man said.

"That's me," Manny told him. He handed her a large manila envelope and she signed the paper he held out to her. "Thanks," she said quickly and shut the door. She took a deep breath and ripped open the package, not even bothering to return to the living room. When she finally found the line on the page that stated the father's name, she began to cry. She walked back into the living room.

"Who is it Manny?" Emma asked quietly. "Who's the father?" Without answering, Manny sat on the couch and handed the papers over to Emma, who read the name out loud. Everyone gasped, but Manny simply sat there and cried.

**A/N: You're not going to find out this chapter…better luck next time. I want reviews! Tell me who you think the father will be or want the father to be. I'll update as soon as I can. **


	23. Moving On

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Moving On**

For the first few days after the results were delivered, Manny stayed in her room and sulked. She only got up to take care of the twins and go to the bathroom. She barely ate anything either. Even though Manny had the phone number of Chris' relative in the states, she decided not to call. She wanted him to decide for himself whether to come back or not. After three days, Emma went straight to the Daniels' house and made Manny get up.

"You're done sulking Manny! You need to be a proper mother to your children. Why don't we take them on a walk? It's beautiful outside," Emma suggested.

"I don't want to go anywhere. I'd rather stay here. Chris isn't coming back," Manny replied, crying.

"So what if he doesn't? You don't need to cry over him anymore. What you need to do is start thinking about Lily and Lucas, especially their future. Heather and Jason aren't going to be able to support the three of you forever. They have four children of their own to think of," she explained to her best friend. It was hard for Emma to see Manny acting like this, so she knew she had to do something to help her. She noticed that Manny sat up straight and stopped crying.

"You know what Em? You're right!" she exclaimed. "Will you help me look for a job today?"

"Of course I will," Emma told her. The girls got Lily and Lucas dressed and grabbed their strollers from the little room with all the baby supplies in it. Manny called Jason down and asked him if he could help bring the strollers upstairs. Then Emma and Manny strapped the babies in their car seats, brought them upstairs, and clicked the car seats into the strollers. "We're going to find Manny a job," Emma told Jason and Heather. Everyone said their goodbyes and they were off.

"I need to go talk to my parents about something first," Manny said to Emma as they walked away from the house. They arrived at her parents' house about five minutes later, and Manny knocked on the door. She thought she saw someone in the upstairs window, but when she looked a second time, she didn't see anyone. After ringing the doorbell twice, she tried the handle to see if it was locked, and it was. She grabbed her keys out of her purse and unlocked the door with her old key. Emma helped her carry the strollers up the steps and into the house. "Mom! Dad!" she called up the stairs. "I need to talk to you! I'll be in the living room." They sat down on the couch and waited. Sure enough, Manny heard her parents coming down the stairs.

"Manuela, Emma," Mr. Santos acknowledged them without saying hello.

"We didn't hear you dear," Mrs. Santos said; a fake smile on her face.

"Did you want to even look at your grandchildren?" Manny asked coldly. Her parents walked over and peered into the strollers, but did not ask to hold them.

"They're beautiful babies," her mother commented and sat down.

"This is Lily Adila and Lucas Wade Santos," Manny said proudly. She had given them her last name on their birth certificates, and was glad that she did.

"Those are very nice names," her father said and sat down next to his wife. "But why did you come here today?"

"I thought you'd might like to at least see them since you didn't come to the hospital. They are ten days old. However, I also came to ask you about my money that is in the bank. I need to get it, and I can't without your permission until I turn eighteen," Manny explained.

"What do you need the money for?" Mr. Santos said, raising his voice a little.

"I need to buy a car. I've had my license for six months now. I need to be able to bring Lily and Lucas places without having to walk," she told them.

"Well Manuela, that money is for college, so no, you cannot have it," Mrs. Santos said, without discussing it with her husband first.

"But mother!" Manny started to say.

"No buts Manuela. Do not argue with your mother. I agree with her completely. You are only seventeen, so for another year we have a say in how the money is spent. If that is the only reason you came, then I suggest you leave," her dad said, getting up and moving towards the door. He opened it and held his hand out, a gesture that commonly means 'get out of my house.'

"It was nice seeing the babies dear," Manny's mom said, being as fake as the smile on her face. Manny stormed out of the house with Emma close behind her. She didn't bother saying goodbye. When they were around the corner and the house was out of sight, Manny stopped and turned toward Emma.

"They don't even remember how old their daughter is! I'm sixteen and my birthday isn't until July 25th…" Emma interrupted her before she said anything else.

"Today is your birthday Manny!"

"Today's the 25th?" she asked.

"Yes it is. I was waiting to see when you would figure it out. Once we're done looking for a job, I'm taking you out to lunch to celebrate. Happy Birthday Manny!" Emma said.

"Thanks Emma. I don't know what I'd do without you," Manny said, hugging her.

They walked all the way to the mall, which wasn't very far, and began looking for a job. Manny didn't want to go to The Dot in case Chris came back and they weren't on good terms. She didn't want to have to work with him. Emma suggested a bunch of stores that were hiring, but Manny kept turning them down. Finally, they were walking by Cassandra's Boutique, their favorite clothing store, and Manny noticed a 'Help Wanted' sign in the window. She ran in and asked for an application. It took her ten minutes to fill out, and when she handed it back, the manager told her that she had time for a quick interview.

"I'll be right back. They want to interview me now!" Manny squealed to Emma. She followed the manager to the back room where her office was. Fifteen minutes later, Manny came out to find Emma holding Lily, who was crying. Manny took her from Emma and yelled out, "I got the job Em! Hey guys, mommy just got a job," she told the twins, even though they couldn't understand her.

"Congratulations Manny!" Emma said, excited for her.

"Thanks, I start on Monday and I work during the week from 3:00 to 8:00 at night. That way I'll still be able to work when school starts. Oh, she needs a diaper change," Manny said, referring to Lily. They went to the bathroom and Manny changed her diaper, then Emma took Manny to her favorite restaurant and they ate lunch. The walk home took about twenty minutes. Lily and Lucas fell asleep on the way. It was the busiest day they'd had since they were born and they were very tired.

"I guess they all went somewhere," Manny said when she noticed that Heather and Jason's van wasn't in the driveway. She pulled out her keys once again, but this time was glad that she was unlocking the door to her real home. Emma and Manny lifted the strollers up the steps and took the car seats out of them. They put the strollers in the closet next to the door. Jason told her that morning that she could keep them in the closet so they wouldn't have to drag them up from her room every time they wanted to go out.

Manny didn't feel like going down to her room, so the girls went into the living room to watch some TV. When she walked in, someone flipped up the light switch.

"SURPRISE!" Everyone yelled as they jumped up. "Happy Birthday!"

"Oh thanks you guys!" Manny said and began to cry. This time she was crying because she was happy to have so many people who cared about her. Everyone who had gone to her baby shower was at the party. It lasted for three hours, and she got a bunch of presents. Before everyone left, Jason and Heather gave Manny her present from them.

"It's out in the garage," Heather said. She made Manny cover her eyes and led her to the garage. Jason opened the door for them.

"Open your eyes," he told her. Manny opened them and gasped.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She yelled and hugged them both.

"It's not brand new, but in pretty good shape," Jason said.

"There are only 2,000 miles on it," Heather added. They had gotten her a used Chevy Avalanche. It was black and Manny had always wanted one.

"I love it!" Manny squealed and jumped in the front seat. "Can I take it for a spin?" she asked.

"It's yours. You can do whatever you want with it." Heather told her. Jason went inside and got Lily and Lucas, who were still in their car seats. He helped Manny strap them in the car.

"Come on Emma! I'm taking you home!" she yelled into the house. Before she left, she thanked everyone for their presents. They were all going home anyway.

"Be careful!" Jason and Heather yelled after her as she drove off. Manny arrived at Emma's house before Spike and Snake. Emma waited until they got there because she forgot to take her house key to Manny's.Before she got out of the truck, Manny gave her a hug.

"Thanks for today Em," she said. "I really needed it."

* * *

A few weeks went by and Manny loved her new job. Since work started at 3 and Heather didn't get home from work until 5, Emma agreed to go over to Manny's and watch the twins until Heather got home. Quinn, Anthony, and Caleb stayed at day care until Jason picked them up on his way home from work (Jayden took a bus from school to the daycare center). Manny tried to pay Emma and Heather for watching the twins, but neither of them would accept the money. Lily and Lucas were already a month old, and Manny was surprised at how fast the time went by. One day after work, she was in the kitchen, helping Heather make dinner, when the doorbell rang. 

"I'll get it," Heather told her. "Just finish what you're doing." She went to answer the door and yelled to Manny. "It's for you," she said.

"Just tell whoever it is to come in," she yelled and put the baby monitor down on the table. Lily and Lucas were downstairs sleeping in their cribs. The bassinets were put away in the baby room off to the side because they had gotten too big for them.

Manny was not prepared to see Chris. He had been gone for so long that she didn't think he was ever coming back. Instead of being happy that he was there, an intense feeling of rage came over her. She ran toward him and pushed him as hard as she could. He fell against the wall next to the kitchen table.

"You asshole!" she screamed, and slapped him in the face.

"I deserved that," was all he managed to say.

"You left us!" she continued to yell. "You abandoned your children and I hate you!"

"I'm the father?" Chris asked, surprised.

"Of course you are! But you're not a very good one," she said, between sobs. "You missed the first month of their lives. You missed so many important things that you are never going to get back!" With each word, Manny was slamming her fists against his chest.

"Manny! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he said, beginning to cry as well. "I never wanted to hurt you."

"Sometimes sorry isn't good enough!" she screamed, her face red and her makeup, mixed with tears, streaming down her face. It was the last thing she said before collapsing from all the emotion. Chris caught her in his arms and stood her up, supporting her with his body. He kissed the top of her head and held her there. They cried together, unable to decide what should be done.

"I love you Manny," he whispered in her ear.

**A/N: The End! I'm glad I finally finished the story. Don't worry, there will definitely be a sequel (I've already started working on it).By the way, Cassandra's Boutique is a real store in Canada...it's really a lingerie store, but in here it's just a regular clothing store. I picked that one because of the name and Manny's real name (Cassie). Tell me what you think.**


End file.
